A New York-based restaurant chain is on the way to the Charleston peninsula and will be the first in South Carolina.
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ plans to open soon on the ground floor of the Caroline Apartments at 99 Westedge St.
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ plans to open soon on a ground-floor corner of The Caroline apartment building at 99 Westedge St. Warren L. Wise/Staff
The corner site, across from Joe Riley Park on Fishburne Street, is under construction. An opening date has not been announced, but a spokesperson said the hope is that it will be ready in early March.
Crave features hot dogs with numerous topping selections as well as pulled chicken, pulled pork and smoked brisket sandwiches along with sliders, plates and side dishes.
The restaurant also has desserts and cakes as well as a self-pour beer wall of craft beers that are paid for by the ounce. It also features a patio with games, trivia nights, karaoke and live music.
The new restaurant has been in the works since the fall of 2021. At the time, Crave Franchising executive Samantha Rincione said it would be a while before the new dining spot materialized because the Lowcountry franchise had just been awarded and a site had not been selected.
Five others are planned across South Carolina. They include sites in Hilton Head Island, Myrtle Beach, Sumter, Spartanburg and Spartanburg County. The Spartanburg site will be at 2401 Reidville Road, according to the restaurant's website. Specific addresses for the other locations have not been announced.
Crave operates restaurants in several states. The closest location to Charleston is northeast of Charlotte in Concord.
What's cooking?
A new restaurant will open soon near Tanger Outlets in North Charleston.
Poke Café recently leased space at 4959 Centre Pointe Drive near Fashion Avenue, according to Jing "Julia" Donovan of real estate firm Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic, which represented the tenant. Chase Development Co. represented the landlord, Madison Plaza LLC.
It's tentatively set to open March 1. Poke Café has another North Charleston restaurant, on Rivers Avenue.
New perk
A new coffee shop is now open on James Island.
Point Break Coffee and Drive Thru opened Feb. 18 at 520 Folly Road. The shop offers coffee and other drinks as well as goods from local bakers and acai bowls.
Shop owner Mary Ann Richardson said the new shop features a menu of items from local businesses as much as possible.
Local partners include Tiller Baking, Saffron, Scratch Cookies, Patagonia Queen, Mabel Mae’s and The Muffin Drop. Beverages come from Mozza Roasters, One Love Kombucha, High Rise CBD Seltzer, Revelry Brewing, Munkle Brewing Beers and Westbrook Brewery.
The shop is open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
Piece of pie
A new sweet shop is coming to Citadel Mall.
The Pie King plans to open in March in the Food Court. It specializes in made-from-scratch treats, including fruit pies, cheesecakes, chocolate pies, meringues and others.
Charleston native and owner Toby Simmons starting selling his baked goods at the age of 14 at Brown's Fruit Stand in North Charleston.
As a child, he could be found in his mother’s kitchen, emulating the love and care he saw his mother and grandmother put into their cooking through his own favorite activity, baking. He quickly became the go-to guy for family get-togethers.
The new shop will be located between Charley’s Steakery and Sarku Japan.
More convenience
Another Parker's Kitchen convenience store soon will open in the Charleston area. The Savannah-based retail chain is building a store at 5644 N. Rhett Ave. in North Charleston.
