When many people think about Charleston, especially those who don’t live here, they picture narrow streets, antebellum homes, upscale restaurants and the King Street shopping district of the city’s lower peninsula.
But what about the upper peninsula, the area that is essentially north of Septima P. Clark Parkway, also known as the Crosstown? Not so much. Yet it has grown and changed dramatically over the past decade and has lots of fun, down-to-earth and edgy offerings.
Doug Warner, executive vice president at Explore Charleston, has seen the changes first-hand because he has lived in the area for 25 years. New unique restaurants and businesses have sprung up over the last decade. While there has always been commerce on upper King Street, it was nothing like it is today, he said.
Restaurants and other businesses moved up the peninsula, at least in part, because rents on the lower peninsula rose dramatically. Instead of more traditional restaurants, “young, hip, cool people are in the kitchen trying to do something different. Visitors and locals alike are looking for authentic experiences,” Warner said — and that’s what the upper peninsula delivers.
Great things about the upper peninsula include its liveliness. For instance, Warner said he walked past Corinne Jones Park (formerly Hester Park) recently and saw about 40 people, including children, a contrast to the past. But this part of the city also is creating issues, notably gentrification, that has pushed up costs. There’s also less racial diversity than before as more White residents move in, he said.
Warner also said more apartments are being built, especially along Morrison Drive, which is contributing to greater population density. While some people don’t appreciate the density, there are a lot of good things about it, he said. It’s easier, for example, to create an effective public transportation system in a denser area. “Density is the opposite of urban sprawl.”
Hope you’re hungry
Javier Maya, owner of Santi’s Restaurante Mexicano for the past three years, said the business has been on upper Meeting Street for about 20 years. He’s not worried about more new apartments in the area.
“We now have a humongous building right behind us,” he said, and it has brought in more business. In fact, some people who live in that building now were customers before they lived on the upper peninsula. But now, he said, they can come in for margaritas and then walk home.
When he first started working in the restaurant 14 years ago, there wasn’t much going on between downtown Charleston and North Charleston, he said. Now, people walk and ride bikes in the neighborhood. “We love the growth. It’s beautiful and better.”
Liz Hudacsko, who along with her husband Marc owns Berkeley’s Sandwiches + Suppers on Huger Street, said the couple, originally from New Jersey, loves living in and owning a business in the neighborhood and feels lucky to be there.
Marc said the restaurant, which opened in 2021 and serves simple, high-quality food, isn’t on the tourist track, but that’s fine with him. It’s a neighborhood place, and he loves the neighborhood.
Liz said there are a few things on the menu that have a New Jersey influence, such as chicken parmesan, but it’s mostly delicious sandwiches and suppers. “It’s definitely not southern food,” she said. “People can come here two or three times a week, not once in a lifetime.”
The two downsides to the area are more congestion and less parking, but it’s not a big problem, Liz added.
Suds and spirits
Joe Bowden, head brewer at Munkle Brewing Company on Meeting Street Road, said the business opened in 2017 on the outer edge of the upper peninsula. The area has changed a lot in the past six years, he said. “We are starting to see more development come up this way.”
There are a lot of breweries on the upper peninsula now, he said. Most of them focus on “new-age” brews, he said. “We focus on traditional and historic beers,” he said.
Bowden said he’s beginning to see more neighborhood customers. The place is friendly and with only seven staff members, it’s easy for people to see familiar faces and feel at home. “But a lot of our customers are not first-time craft beer drinkers, he said. “We get a lot of world travelers.”
The only changes he would like to see are related to cars, he said, because vehicles buzz along too quickly on Meeting Street Road. He would like to see traffic-calming measures including lights. He thinks marked parking places on the street would also help.
Scott Blackwell, who owns High Wire Distilling with his wife, Ann Marshall, said the distillery outgrew its original King Street space and moved to the current location on Huger Street in 2020. The new location allows for more manufacturing, he said. That’s important because 18-wheelers have to be able to drop off grain, he said. He focuses on using South Carolina agricultural products.
People can purchase spirits, including whiskey, brandy and bourbon, and relax in the tasting room to enjoy cocktails, beer, wine and food. He sees the tasting room as a place for education about spirits and the process of making them.
Blackwell said he loves the neighborhood, addingthat the distillery is starting to get more and more foot traffic.
Neighborhood nostalgia
Maya Hollinshead is the new branch manager of the newly renovated John L. Dart Library on upper King Street. She is working to preserve the past while simultaneously working on a strong future.
The library has a rich history. It began in 1927 as an African American reading room created by Susan Dart Butler, daughter of educator John L. Dart. The Charleston County library system adopted it as a branch in 1931, and the branch you see today opened in 1968.
The library houses the Dart Collection, a collection of hard-to-find African American history books. And the reconfigured space allows for a computer area for children and teens, more seating and meeting spaces, more programming and a refreshed materials collection.
Hollinshead attended elementary and middle schools in the neighborhood, which at the time was a predominantly Black neighborhood. Sometimes she looks around and feels nostalgic about the people who lived there. “Now, it’s a mix of everything,” she said.
But she said she knows things change. And she said she especially appreciates the expanded food options available close by. She wants everyone who walks through the doors of the library to feel welcome. Using the Gullah terms for people who have been in the neighborhood for long time and new arrivals, she said, “if you’re a comyah or a beenyah, we want to get yah.”
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