Good things come to those who wait … to open restaurants in the city of Charleston months behind their projected debut date. That’s how the saying goes, right?
Back in March, the Charleston City Paper talked to Félix Landrum, owner of Félix Cocktails et Cuisine, about his second project, La Cave (pronounced “La-Cahv”), when it was originally slated to open.
Seven months later, La Cave, an elevated sipping lounge and salon privé inspired by the South of France, has an opening date, Oct. 17.
While delayed openings are nothing new in Charleston, they remain deeply frustrating to business owners who have to navigate city permits and ever-expanding budgets and adjust their timelines accordingly.
“You’ve got to figure out where you are getting that funding, and how are you working it out,” Landrum said about opening a new restaurant. “And, you know, you’re really putting your head on the chopping block, and you’re taking a chance.”
Despite the delays, he feels pretty confident about La Cave.
“I feel really good about this project because of the success of Félix,” Landrum said. “We are very, very blessed.”
Give people what they want
While Félix is meant to evoke a buzzy Parisian cafe, La Cave is its softer sister, with natural wood finishes and exposed stone walls designed by Landrum’s wife, Leslie. Initially, he intended for guests to enter La Cave through Félix (his landlord allowed him to knock down a wall between the two restaurants) passing under an arched ceiling that feels quite, well, cave-like.
Guests can still enter the new space through the small hallway, but there’s a separate entrance on King Street, too.
“As we started putting paper up, there was a lot of interest and people were really excited,” Landrum said of interest in La Cave’s initial construction phases from passersby. “I realized the value of that front door on King Street.”
Landrum is pretty skilled at recognizing the value of spaces on King Street. When he opened Félix at number 550 in 2017, that portion of upper King, north of Cannon Street, was not the bustling area it is today. “I took out a home equity loan on my house in Michigan to put money down on the [Félix] space, and I didn’t know how we were going to get it built,” he said. “We got it built. We got going.”
Today, Félix has a loyal following and Landrum said it occurred to him, when he had to start turning customers away at the door, that he should open a second space. He said he also often gets requests for private events at Félix, which he generally cannot accommodate.
La Cave features a semi-private dining room that can be concealed with drapery and potted olive trees, ideal for special events. The space also includes a 12-seat bar, couches and banquettes, and is designed for those looking for anything from a pre-dinner cocktail to a full meal consisting of small plates.
“What I tried to do is create different nooks of cozy where people could come,” Landrum said. “They could have conversations, they could hang out, they could sip their drinks, they could snack, they could wait to go next door or [not] … This is the destination.”
Diners can look forward to small plates like a petit crab roll with lump crab cake topped with jalapeño-leek aïoli and pickled red onions that is served on a sized-down sesame bun; raw bar offerings ranging from oysters to crudo to caviar service; and roasted prawns with coriander, piquillo pepper butter and grilled lemon.
The cocktail menu won’t be as extensive as Félix’s (which has more than 20 choices), but it will still focus on detailed, craft creations. Order the Martini de Luxe, made with fromage washed vodka, saline and Lillet Blancand get a caviar crisp on the side.
And while the special details level-up the experience for Landrum and future diners, he said that he wants La Cave to be a regular stop for people, too.
“There are a bunch of things on the menu that you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg for,” he said. “I think that’s really important because, you know, you want people to feel like this is a place they can come all the time, not just for special occasions.”
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