The Charleston restaurant scene looks vaguely familiar

Sure there are the big chains (Mellow Mushroom, Ruth’s Chris) and even the regional chains (Jim ‘N Nicks, Carolina Ale House, Burton’s).

However, there seems to be a special connection between Charlotte and Charleston for some great “local” restaurants that only operate in a few locations.

I’m talking about independent establishments such as Basil Thai, 5Church, O-Ku Sushi, Pearlz Oyster Bar, CO and others.

Charleston mainstays expanded into Charlotte

O-Ku had long been a favorite of Charleston locals and tourists. Expansion to Atlanta and Charlotte was a natural move.

Basil Thai was an early adopter – coming to Charlotte in 2009. CO stayed near the coast with satellite locations in Myrtle Beach and Savannah before moving inland to Charlotte last year.

Greg Bauer, the owner of CO, noticed Charlotte’s potential. “Charlotte is a growing and booming town right now. There’s so many exciting projects that are under development, and the Park Road Shopping Center was being revitalized and we wanted to be a part of that.”

A trendy Charlotte concept set its sights on Charleston

Appropriately, 5Church expanded into an old church in Charleston’s downtown historic district in 2015.

5Church’s Alejandro Torio says he came to Charleston with the same intention as the Charlotte location – to attract local customers.

So many restaurants in Charleston depend on the almost 5 million visitors that journey into downtown Charleston each year. That’s all well and good, says Torio, “But we always market to locals first.”

Bauer agrees. He says, “Charleston is a very tourism heavy city whereas Charlotte is more locals.”

Because of the tourism in Charleston their food and beverage industry allows us to become inspired. Then we take that inspiration to Charlotte since it is a big market, and there is a lot of potential customers.”

The biggest connection between the cities is Johnson & Wales University

In 2006, Johnson & Wales moved its Charleston campus to a beautiful state-of-the-art facility in Charlotte.

Many feel that the university’s culinary program was one of the big catalysts for Charleston’s transformation into a world-class dining city.

Since 2006, the dining scene is Charlotte has certainly improved as well.

The Culinary Institute of Charleston (part of Trident Technical College) has more than stepped up to fill that void in Charleston, with an impressive facility and many chefs/instructors coming over from Johnson & Wales.

Access to well-trained creative talent makes it possible for many of our independent restaurants to thrive.

Whether you are a local or a tourist, it is comforting to know that Charleston and Charlotte share the attention of operators who want to serve both markets – one of many signs that Charlotte is finally becoming a world-class dining city as well.