Owen Bernstein knows a thing or two about operating a restaurant in Charleston. He is part of the team behind Mount Pleasant’s Cramer’s Kitchen as well as coffee and wine bar Nook Tiny Café and Market at 267 Rutledge Ave.
The former is known for its seasonal tasting menus, and the latter has quickly charmed Charlestonians and visitors alike with its European-inspired atmosphere and menu.
In early November, Bernstein will open Luma — which is an acronym for “let us meet again” — at 128 Columbus St., bringing another community-minded café and bakery to the Charleston peninsula.
What’s on the menu?
When it comes to the menu at Luma, the team again looked to Europe for inspiration.
“My partners and I love to travel, and we have always admired the bakeries in Europe that execute daily bread, pastry and provisions alongside excellent coffee in a warm, welcoming atmosphere,” Bernstein said.
Like at Nook, coffee will come from Methodical Coffee, a choice Bernstein made because of the company’s sourcing and constant stream of new roasts. From a simple Americano to an espresso and matcha bar, all caffeine needs will be met, he said.
When it comes to food, you can scratch many an itch, from a pastry to a more substantial lunch. You’ll find a turkey club on fresh sourdough and a grilled sourdough English muffin to accompany your eggs. There will also be a hearty lunch plate as well as nutrient packed salads, sandwiches and bowls.
Leading up to opening, the Luma team popped up around town at places like Daps Breakfast and Imbibe, The Archer, Estuary Brewing Co. and Two Blokes Brewing’s taproom.
“They have been so fun,” Bernstein said about the popups. “We have met so many excited people. They have shown us that Charleston is ready for a fresh spin on the café scene. People are most excited about our fresh daily bread and our lunch options.”
Bernstein shared that the most popular items at the popups were the brioche breakfast sandwich and the turkey club with dill aioli on fresh sourdough. When it comes to sweets, the salted toffee cookie and the sourdough cinnamon roll have been crowd favorites.
Items that will be available daily at Luma include pastries like chocolate croissants, salted toffee cookies, banana bread, cheddar bacon scones and coconut cake by the slice. The bakers will turn out sourdough batards (a short baguette-like bread) for retail, sourdough English muffins for breakfast sandwiches, seasonal focaccia slices and sourdough pita for a mezze bowl and shakshuka.
Seasonally, you might find treats such as maple praline danishes, apple crumb muffins, chai croissant cinnamon rolls and berry preserves pop tarts. Weekends will include sourdough cinnamon rolls at brunch, sourdough donuts, sourdough bagels and pizza focaccia on Fridays.
The Luma team
Bernstein was born and raised on Cape Cod. He moved to Boston to study business. His first restaurant job was at 14 when he washed dishes and cut potatoes for a local diner. A lifelong food obsession found him taking himself to great restaurants as a teenager, observing and indulging, all while keeping notes on what made a food experience great.
Starting in his mid-20s, he worked as a private chef in the Charleston area and built a small catering business. Three years ago, he opened Cramer’s Kitchen. Bernstein will remain involved at Cramer’s and will be the culinary director and executive chef at Luma.
Lead baker and Charleston native Travis Shy spent most of his career at Village Bakery in Mount Pleasant working under Sal Parco, overseeing the pastry and bread program for more than a decade. Shy also earned his stripes baking at places like Butcher and Bee, Mercantile and Mash, and Kudzu Bakery. He will lead the baking program with nearly 20 years of bread- and pastry-making experience and will be supported by pastry chefs Jackson Rock and Skylar George.
The Luma space offers ample seating with about 45 seats inside and 20 outside. Luma will also be used as a private event space in the evenings.
“We want you to hang with us,” Bernstein said. “The weekends will be a little faster paced and brunch focused, with special brunch items, mimosa flights and high energy vibes. The weekdays will be more about the leisurely breakfast, coffee and lunch with a friend or workmate.”
“We have set out to create a space that is not just serving consistent coffee, amazing food, house-made bread and pastry, but a place where people can come back to multiple times a week and feel good about what they are eating,” Bernstein continued. “We felt that Charleston has many great coffee shops, fantastic bakeries and amazing lunch spots, but what about a place that you can get all three?”
Luma will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in early November.
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