Carolina's Bistro has new owner
South Floridian purchases high-end restaurant
By Warren Wise
Carolina's Southern Bistro, one of Charleston's oldest fine-dining establishments, has changed hands.
Joseph A. Meloy, a South Florida restaurateur for many years, now owns the landmark high-end restaurant at 10 Exchange St.
The deal closed Monday, Meloy said. It was formerly owned by Richard Stoney of Crew Carolina restaurant group. Terms were not disclosed.
The Post and Courier
Most of the current staff of about 25, including chef Jeremiah Bacon, will be kept on by the new owner of Carolina's Southern Bistro.
Meloy
Meloy said Thursday that he has visited Charleston many times since his wife, Mary, and her sister are from South Carolina.
He met Stoney last winter while helping longtime friend Bill Hall open Hall's Chophouse on Upper King Street.
Talks between Meloy and Crew Carolina about a sale of Carolina's started in earnest in the fall, Meloy said, when he decided to move to the Charleston area and get back into the restaurant business.
"We love it here, and we always had it in the back of our mind that this is where we wanted to come," Meloy said.
He said he has maintained most of the staff of about 25 employees, including chef Jeremiah Bacon.
"We are not looking at substantial changes," Meloy said.
"Maybe some refinements. People can expect the same service and quality of food."
Previously, Meloy owned Restaurant Concepts Inc. in South Florida, which included Cagney's Crabhouse in Deerfield Beach and Ferguson's Gator Bar & Grill and Salute in Fort Lauderdale.
His restaurants mainly were in hotels. He also owned a catering business in Florida.
Originally from Indiana, Meloy started in the service industry in 1967. He has been in the restaurant and hotel business ever since.
Carolina's grew out of a restaurant called Perdita's, a local culinary institution that opened in 1953 at 10 Exchange, a building that dates to Revolutionary times.
The bistro has had several owners over the years.
Crew Carolina, which also owns the Boathouse at Breech Inlet on the Isle of Palms, acquired the business and its catering division in 2004.
Stoney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Reach Warren Wise at 937-5524 or wwise@postandcourier.com.
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