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In 2011, when sandwich master Butcher & Bee opened at 654 King St., some folks scratched their heads at the location. Former City Paper editor Stephanie Barna wrote, "Butcher & Bee is like an Easter egg for locals, requiring a bit of a hunt to be found." Now, with the rest of Upper King full of development, tourists and Charlestonians use Butcher & Bee as a North Central landmark.
With the popularity of the first restaurant, owner Michael Shemtov expanded his business to open grab-and-go shop The Daily and a Butcher & Bee in Nashville. While working on the Nashville location, Shemtov was also thinking of his ongoing project Workshop in the NoMo neighborhood of Charleston. Basically, he was building Workshop to be a bigger, better version of Butcher & Bee, so he decided that it should become Butcher & Bee. "The more I thought about it, the more it made sense," says Shemtov, "We are taking what people love about the Bee and giving them more of it, while also addressing requests from our guests for dinner service, more private tables, and adult beverages."
This means that come spring, Butcher & Bee will have a new address — 1085 Morrison Dr. The expanded eatery will also have hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, more seating, a larger outdoor area, more parking, and booze. The new dinner service will include mezze, salads, and entree items similar to the Nashville location.
For now, the lunch/brunch spot many have come to cherish at 654 King St. isn't going anywhere. Butcher & Bee will remain open until the switchover, and if you've come to admire the funky industrial space, take a few extra long lunches to muse on the interiors. Eater forgot to ask Shemtov if that really uncomfortable tractor seat is moving to the new address, but we're sure there's someone out there that loves it.
As for Workshop, the name will transfer to Shemtov's pending 1505 King St. project Pacific Box & Crate. Shemtov thinks the name and branding work with the upcoming fancy food court, since chefs will be able to visit to "workshop" new ideas and the whole concept serves as a studio of new proposals for Charleston area.
