Restaurants open and close, but some transform to stay relevant. Some expand. Some overhaul their menus. And in one local case, necessity forced a restaurant to pivot after a car plowed through its walls.
“I think it’s an election year, it’s inflation and people are holding on to their money,” Maya del Sol’s Raul Sanchez said of restaurant changes around town. “I hear that at brunch from a couple of customers who used to come every Sunday, but now they say they don’t know what’s going to happen [with the economy] and they’re going out once a month instead of once a week.”
Bar Rollins to have a rebirth
Bar Rollins opened in 2022, specializing in small bites, all natural wines and a few beer offerings, including a proprietary Beer Rollins. It closed Oct. 27, but has plans for a rebirth.
“We have been looking for a bigger space for a while, and we kind of have the opportunity to make that happen,” said Chris Rollins, the spot’s owner. “We were running out of space on weekends and certain nights, and we wanted to have a kitchen and a food program.
“Charleston loves to eat and we want to be in on that. We have no complaints about our neighbors or the vicinity, but it was time for us to grow.”
Rollins said the next location was “top secret” but it will feature “everything you know and love about Bar Rollins, but with a food program” that will include a chef partner.
CudaCo adds two small buildings
CudaCo Seafood House on Folly Road is expanding from one building into a compound that will open in 2025.
Chef-operator and partner Shaun Brian is the main designer. He is helping to construct two new buildings: one will be a crudo wine and beer bar; another will be a retail and event space.
“The smaller building is a little gem, only about 20-feet-by-20-feet. You’ll be able to order from the bar and have runners/bussers so it’s a little more service-oriented,” Brian said, saying the offerings will also include ceviche, dressed oysters and a “not uppity” caviar service. “We’re going to hit hard in terms of technique and simply highlighting the fish.”
The larger space will sell sustainable products, but also will feature events like ceviche classes and oyster/champagne pairings, he said.
“We’ll be displaying items that are focusing on sustainability and ocean regenerative practices. We’re expanding to be a water-based lifestyle sustainability company with products like our cooler made from recycled plastics.
“One of the highlights of the retail space will be the large selection of tinned seafood. We also want to be launching into e-commerce with things like smoked fish.”
Maya del Sol considers changes
In North Charleston, a restaurant is thinking of shrinking hours to stay relevant.
Raul’s Maya del Sol was a popular spot in Park Circle starting in 2013. Sanchez dropped his name from the restaurant when he moved to Reynolds Avenue in December 2020 because “people already knew me,” he said.
The original concept for the new location was a five-course, reservations-only chef’s table dinner, but customers familiar with the old place clamored for brunch and lunch.
“I eventually gave in because customers kept asking, and those are the people who keep me in business,” Sanchez said. But, as the economy changed, customers began eating fewer lunches and brunches out. In the future, the restaurant’s chef dinners, which had been offered every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, may become less frequent.
“We’re considering changes because of the struggles,” Sanchez said, adding that it is premature to commit to what the exact changes will be. “It may be a different format. Maybe the chef dinners will be once a month or here and there.”
Proof pivots in 100 ways
Proof opened on Upper King Street in 2012 offering craft cocktails and house-made bitters.
“It was an adult bar, a place for people to go to get a nice glass of wine, a craft cocktail or a good whiskey,” said owner Craig Nelson.
But times — and King Street — have changed.
“We saw a lot of locals stop going Downtown Thursday to Saturday nights since the city has shut down King Street and parking has disappeared,” Nelson said. “It’s pushed the vibe to more of a walking party kind of place.”
Now, Proof has morphed into 100 Proof, a shots bar.
“We have 100 shots and a pretty good beer list. It’s more of a place to let your hair down and have a little party,” Nelson said. “It’s not so serious anymore. The stuffy cocktail environment got tiring after 12 years.”
Nelson said it was difficult to staff a bar that took “four to five hours of prep and standing there until two in the morning,” especially since the street itself now seems to attract more of a “celebratory, bachelorette, wedding party kind of vibe.”
The shots model lends itself to that walking party.
“People can pop in and have one or two shots, maybe a seltzer, and then move on. It seems like they do that all the way down King Street.”
The Pass adds evening service
The Pass opened as an Italian specialty sandwich shop on Spring Street in 2021. The shop seated only 12 and, as owner Anthony Marini said, had only two mottos: “We put good things on bread, and we are really nice to everyone who walks through the door.”
That may not have included the unexpected visitor whose car crashed through the restaurant in February hours after the Super Bowl. Fortunately, the restaurant was closed. But within five days, Marini was offering sandwiches through a side window. By September, when the dining room reopened, Marini was thinking about a concept he had been mulling for a while — a two-hour tasting experience after dark called The Italian Boy. The restaurant-within-a-restaurant has room for 12 guests, and will open Dec. 4 from Wednesdays to Saturdays.
“It’s going to be a higher-end version of what we do here during the day,” Marini said. “I have a lot of respect for all the restaurants in town, but as a northerner, I miss that Italian row home–inspired cuisine.
“We’ll change the menu at least once a month. There will be red sauces, but some other classical dishes.”
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