The Most Anticipated Charleston Restaurant Openings, Summer 2016

Random thunderstorms and the air conditioning on high — it must mean summer in the Lowcountry. While spring was busy, chefs, restaurateurs, and investors have even more new concepts coming this way. While deadlines always shift, this is what we're expecting to see in the next few months.

LEWIS BARBECUE

Location: 464 Nassau St., downtown
Key Players: pitmaster John Lewis, general manager Ben Garbee, assistant pitmaster Philip Powers, and cocktail director Roderick Hale Weaver
Projected Opening: End of June
John Lewis, the acclaimed pitmaster of La Barbecue in Austin, will bring Texas-style brisket to Charleston later this year. If the long lines for his 2015 summer pop-ups are indication, the Holy City is ready for Lewis's brand of beef. The brick-and-mortar location will be tricked out with Lewis's custom-designed smokers, and a menu featuring smoked classics like brisket, ribs, "Texas hot guts," plus Tex-Mex specials and more.

[Stitch Design Co.]

Le Farfalle

Location: 15 Beaufain St., Downtown
Key Players: Co-owners Michael and Caitlin Toscano
Projected Opening: End of June
Chef Michael Toscano made a name for himself in NYC with restaurants like Perla, Montmartre, and Jeffrey's Grocery. Toscano's forthcoming Charleston restaurant will feature Italian fare. For a preview of what may be to come, the chef's agnolotti al sugo d’arrosto was named a "Best New Pasta Dish" by Eater New York in 2013.

Toscano and wife Caitlin plan to open Le Farfalle this spring, after a few renovations to Leaf. Caitlin will run the front of house, while Michael will head the kitchen.

[Le Farfalle]

Cane Rhum Bar + Caribbean Kitchen

Location: 251 East Bay St., downtown
Key Players: Chef/owner Paul Yellin
Projected Opening: Summer
"The Rhum Chef," Paul Yellin, took on the task of transforming the former Big John's Tavern space into a bar/restaurant with a "laid back tropical oasis" feeling. The concept Cane Rhum Bar + Caribbean Kitchen will obviously serve rum drinks and Caribbean cuisine. It will be a slice of island life on East Bay Street.

[Eater Charleston]

HENRIETTA'S, THE LIVING ROOM, AND THE CITRUS CLUB

Location: 334 Meeting St., Downtown
Key Players: The Dewberry, chef Wes Morton, chef de cuisine R.J. Dye, food and beverage director Will Friedrichs, general manager Michelle Pavlakos, and mixologist Ryan Casey
Projected Opening: Soon
Henrietta's will rest on the ground floor of forthcoming hotel The Dewberry. The walls will be mahogany, the ceilings will be tinned, and the room will percolate with old world sophistication. The Dewberry pitches the eatery as a "a modern, yet southern Brasserie." Chefs Wes Morton and R.J. Dye take charge of the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus for Henrietta's.

On the top floor of the hotel, The Citrus Club overlooks Marion Square and all of Charleston, and if approved, will be the highest rooftop bar on the peninsula. The Dewberry describes The Citrus Club as "[w]himsy meets timeless in this colorful take on the classic rooftop cocktail bar." Longtime fixture in the Charleston bar world, Ryan Casey, will be in charge of the libations.

The Living Room takes place of the traditional hotel lobby at The Dewberry. There will be a solid brass bar stretching the length of one wall and mid-century modern lounge seating dotting the area. Floor-to-ceiling windows surround the room with views from the corner of Charlotte and Meeting Streets. The space will be open all day with cocktail servers in the evening. Dark spirits, Clinebell ice, and crystal stemware will take the cocktails at The Living Room to a new level.

[The Dewberry]

REOPENING OF BLIND TIGER

Location: 36 & 38 Broad St., Downtown
Key Players: New proprietor Mike Shuler
Projected Opening: "Soon Rather Than Later"
With Mike Shuler and his team, the Blind Tiger space will be restored, the bar will have a larger booze selection, and the kitchen will have an expanded menu (including bringing back a killer burger). "Nobody wants the Tiger to change," Shuler says, "we just want to put something into there that the neighborhood deserves."

[Eater Charleston]

MCCRADY'S TAVERN

Location: 2 Unity Alley, downtown
Key Players: Chef Sean Brock, Chef de Cuisine Daniel Heinze, Neighborhood Dining Group
Projected Opening: Summer
The Neighborhood Dining Group moves the venerable McCrady's dining room to the former Minero space on East Bay to make room for a "lively, everyday gathering place" at 2 Unity Alley. Not many details are known, but we'll be tracking any movements from the McCrady's crew.

[Bill Addison]

SCARECROW

Location: 23 Ann St., Downtown
Key Players: Chef/co-owner Damon Wise and co-owner Jonathon Buckley
Projected Opening: Summer
While the sister restaurants to Scarecrow have already opened at 23 Ann St., the most upscale of the concepts in the former train depot has yet to open. This will be a dinner-only restaurant with prices ranging from $14 to $32. Wood-fired items highlighting Lowcountry produce shape the Scarecrow menu. A brick oven and open flame grill takes center stage in the dining room, and guests will have front row seats to the chefs prepping dinner, as banquettes surround the fire station. They plan to have an outdoor wine garden at Scarecrow and a reserve wine cellar.

[Scarecrow & Co.]

PANCITO & LEFTY

Location: 708 King St., downtown
Key Players: Restaurateur Jimmy Poole and chef Robert Berry
Projected Opening: Summer
Jimmy Poole and Robert Berry are renovating the former Zappo's Pizza space to become their ideal Mexican restaurant, complete with a lively atmosphere, tequila and mezcal drinks, and, of course, tacos.

[Provided]

ECLECTIC CAFE & VINYL

Location: 132 A Spring St., downtown
Key Players: Owner Garrett Garnos
Projected Opening: Soon
This Cannonborough/Elliotborough addition will "offer a unique blend of vinyl records, beer, wine, high-end casual food, newspapers, magazines, and books."

[Eater Charleston]

Also, keep an eye on:

• The Brick (Downtown)
• Cinco Tex-Mex (Mount Pleasant)
• Crust Wood Fired Pizza (Summerville)
• Delish! Bakery & Bistro (Downtown)
• Farmer & Exchange (Downtown)
• Food Truck O Rama (Downtown)
• Ink n Ivy (Downtown)
• Kristen Kish/Brooks Reitz Concept (Downtown)
• Meeting at Market (Downtown)
• Mex 1 Costal Cantina (Sullivan's Island)
• Pawpaw (Downtown)
• Saint Alban (Reopening Downtown)
• Seed (Downtown)
• Superica (Unknown)
• Unnamed Huger Street Pizza/Wine Bar (Downtown)
• Wahlburgers (Unknown)
• The Workshop (Downtown)
• Westside Deli (Downtown)
• Xiao Bao Biscuit's Second Concept (Downtown)