CH2 COVER Taylor Kent models a look for our Thrifting article on page 34. Styled by Kaila Jeffcoat.
Kent models a look from The Litter Box. Styled by Kaila Jeffcoat. Photography by M.KAT.
GENIUSES AT WORK
Ambassador of Buzz
Maggie Marie Washo
Master of Coin
Marion Elizabeth Bowser
Chief Chatter
Kim Conrad Crouch
Sales Rockstar
“Just Kandace” Cunningham
Head of Schmoozing
Morgan Ambler
Talent Delivery Specialist
Kaila Jeffcoat
Wizard of Light Bulb Moments
Jevon Daly
Mascot in Training
Buoy Conrad Crouch Pritchard
The Gatekeepers
Greta Von Bowser
Vincent Von Bowser
Comic Sans Annihilator
Catherine Davies
Digital Sorceress
Hunter Kostylo
Aspiring Novelists
Jesse Blanco
Courtney Hampson
Lynne Hummell
Barry Kaufman
Alan Perry
Cheryl Ricer
Larry Toomer
Sheila Tucker
Lighting Experts
Photography by M.Kat
Find Us Here
PO Box 22949
Hilton Head Island, SC 29925
843.816.6247
maggie@ch2cb2magazine.com
September 2024
IWhen 205 Is A Lot
’ve never been one to look in the rearview mirror. Once an issue of CH2 is in print, there’s a 90% chance I never flip through it. At that point in the month, I’m deep in production with photo shoots for the next issue and in the planning stages for the one after that.
A few months ago, as we were setting the stage for a parody of Taylor Swift’s Fortnight video with a backdrop of CH2 and CB2 covers, the enormity of what 17 years of magazines truly looks like hit me.
That’s a lot of pages. What an incredible team effort it took to produce such a history.
So, as we embark upon our 18th year, I am taking a moment to reflect on all the creative and dedicated people that helped us get here, starting with our fearless leader who owned a bunch of restaurants and decided “why not a magazine too,” the magnetic Pierce Lowrey.
Talented writers like Linda Hopkins, Barry Kaufman, and Courtney Hampson – who has been around since almost the beginning, when we first met on a fox hunt at Palmetto Bluff.
Creative and imaginative powerhouses like Tom Staebler, who graced us with his knowledge after an illustrious 40-year career as Playboy’s art director. Under his tutelage, the logo changed and I was instructed in photography by the man who shot celebrities for one of the most prolific publications in history.
And to new energetic forces, like Jevon Daly, who convinced me the magazine was way more than what the public saw on the printed page, and helped catapult us into a
digital and social media presence I would not have imagined possible five years ago.
The core of our team, however, has always been the women, so I have to shout out to all of my CH2 girls, who are not just workmates, but truly family at this point. To countless photo shoots and creative sessions with Catherine Davies and Hunter Kostylo, who are still making this magazine beautiful every month. And to Kelly Stroud, our very first art director, who brought energy, humor, and talent to those first few years of issues. And what would a magazine be without a sales team? Out of business, probably. I have to thank my girls Morgan, Kim, Kaila, and Kandace for keeping those ads coming in, as that’s what allows us all to be here, for free, in your mailbox every month. Shoutout to our former CH2 girls as well – women like Becky, Lindsay, Bailey, Katie, our rockstar Ashton, who helped us get to where we are today. And only our clients know Mame Bowser, the CFO who handles the business side of things so we can be wildly creative … but we really owe more to her than anyone will ever realize publicly.
I dedicate this, our 206th issue, to Bonnie Lowrey – thanks for believing a bunch of kids could do it!
We hope you enjoy this Love Affair with Food issue. It’s probably the 10th … maybe the 14th? I don’t know … I don’t really keep up with that sort of thing.
Cheers!
MAGGIE WASHO Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
GETTING TO 90:
PART ONE
Afew months ago, Maggie Washo and Jevon Daly reached out on Facebook to readers, looking to interview residents who had made it to 90 years old and beyond. Originally, the thought was to ascertain what these people had in common – if any commonalities existed. While they didn’t get exactly what they were searching for, the duo did have enjoyable conversations with lovely people who have been on this planet for a time. The dialogue veered sporadically from the price of gas and raising children to meeting celebrities, square dancing, politics, war, and the dangers of motorcycles.
What follows are snippets of these interviews.
This is the first part in a continuing series. See the next installments in our October and November issues.
BUDDY WRIGHTSON
Date of Birth: September 22, 1933
Maggie Washo: What brought you to Hilton Head Island?
Buddy Wrightson: My family. I was living in Donna, Texas, by myself and my doctor said that wasn’t a good idea anymore.
MW: Do you like living in South Carolina?
BW: Oh, I don’t mind it. I enjoy the weather.
MW: What was your early life like?
BW: Pretty routine, I guess. I had four brothers and two sisters. I was an orphan. My dad died when I was three – he had a blister on his heel and he didn’t take care of it, and when they went to amputate his leg, it was too late. My mother dumped us at a boarding school in 1939. Left us. I was the youngest. My older sister raised me. She lived to be 95. I have another sister in Arizona who is also 95.
MW: What did you do for a career?
BW: I worked at Firestone Rubber Company for 30 years and I retired from the Air Guard.
MW: Did you have a family?
BW: I was married twice – and had two boys and three girls. I had a fairly good life, I guess. Pretty routine. My first wife’s name was Barbara. Then I married Dorma – we were married for almost 40 years when she passed away.
MW: You obviously enjoyed being married.
BW: Oh yeah!
MW: What advice do you have for people who want to stay married for a long time?
BW: Just try to get along and listen to each other.
MW: It’s as simple as that, huh?
BW: Yep.
MW: What about raising children – do you have any advice on that?
BW: Well, you gotta listen to them once in a while, and you must make sure they mind you and do what they are told. My kids went off on their own fairly young.
MW: Well, I guess you raised them right, then – they were ready to go off into the world and do the thing.
BW: Yep.
MW: Tell us about the time you met Elvis.
BW: My first wife and I went to his concert in 1956 in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was stationed there. This was before he became famous. We talked to him a little bit.
MW: Did you like him?
BW: Oh yeah – he was a very nice guy. But you didn’t mess with him. Two guys tried to fight him.
MW: What?!
BW: Oh yeah, and he beat them both. After the concert he was talking to their girlfriends, and they didn’t like that, so they jumped him and boy, he pounced on them!
MW: Well, there you go. Was he a big guy?
BW: Oh, I guess he was pretty good sized – but he could take care of himself. No problem there!
Jevon Daly: Buddy, do you remember the first girl you ever went out on a date with?
BW: Ha ha! No. My memory is kind of short.
MW: I guess she was forgettable.
JD: What about your first car?
BW: It was a 1937 Dodge four-shift.
JD: And how much was gas when you were in high school?
BW: Twenty-four cents a gallon!
MW: How much did you pay for your first house?
BW: Oh, golly I don’t remember – my memory is so short anymore.
JD: Not about gas it’s not!
MW: Buddy, to what do you attribute getting to the ripe old age of 90?
BW: Oh, I don’t know – just hanging in there, I guess. (laughs)
MW: What about exercise – was that a big part of your life?
BW: Well, not too much. I was in the Army and Air Force, so I was reasonably active.
JD: Did you box when you were younger?
BW: (Laughing) No! I don’t like being hit.
JD: Ha ha ha! Same.
MW: What about your diet?
BW: I ate everything that was set in front of me. (laughs)
MW: That’s a pretty good way to get to 90 years old, I guess.
MW: Does a particular time or decade in your life stand out as the most enjoyable?
BW: Oh, I guess probably when I was 20, 21.
MW: And then it was all downhill from there, huh?
BW: (Laughs)
MW: Buddy, that’s not very encouraging!
BW: I traveled in a motor home with Dorma for nine years. We went to every state in the union. We had a lot of fun.
MW: Wow! That’s on my bucket list too. I guess I need to learn to drive one of those things.
BW: Dorma drove it. And she was only 90 pounds. It’s just like driving a car.
MW: I don’t think so! (laughs)
MW: What did you like to do for fun when you were younger?
BW: Dance! I had a dance partner in Dorma for a long time. We used to square dance.
JD: When did you buy your first motorcycle?
BW: I’ve never been on or owned a motorcycle.
MW: That’s how he lived to be 90! Stayed off motorcycles.
BW: Yep. (laughs)
JD: Is Buddy a nickname?
BW: Nope – that’s my real name.
MW: I like it.
JD: They don’t make them like that anymore.
MW: I know.
JD: Now there’s all these weird names.
BW: Well, I was the youngest of seven. And my brother’s name was Lavern, but they called him Billy. And the doctor said, “Well you got a Billy, why not a Buddy?”
JD: What were you doing when Woodstock was happening?
BW: My memory isn’t worth a damn!
MW: He was raising five kids!
SAL PIAZZA
Age: 91
Jevon Daly: We are doing this interview over a game of pool with Sal. Sal, how old are you this year?
Sal Piazza: 91.
Maggie Washo: He’s a pool shark.
JD: He’s a pool shark-slash-hairdresser.
SP: Hairdresser. Builder. Now they call me the hit man because of my (quietly raspy) voice.
JD: Your voice reminds me of Miles Davis. Whose shot is it now? My shot or your shot?
SP: It’s my shot. You missed it.
JD: Alright, go for it then. How long have you been playing pool, Sal?
SP: Only about 12 years. I wanted to play when I was young, and my father forbid me to go into a pool hall. Because only bad people hung out in pool halls … that’s what they said.
JD: And now you’re hanging with all of them. (Takes and misses shot).
SP: You overcut it.
JD: Was that a hairdressing joke?
JD: Sal, where did you grow up?
SP: Queens, New York City. (takes shot and misses). Now I missed one. That’s nerves, I guess.
JD: Who’s making you nervous – Maggie? (laughs)
MW: What made you move to Hilton Head Island?
SP: People moving into New York!
MW: Love it. What’s your favorite part about living on Hilton Head?
SP: Meeting people for the first time and becoming friends instantly.
JD: How did you become a hairdresser?
SP: That’s an involved story. I had just gotten discharged from the Air Force, and I was in the military police. And I wanted to be a policeman. You had to be 21, and I was only 20. My mother had her family over one night – all her relatives – welcoming me home. And my cousin said to
me, “What are you gonna do?” and I told him I was going to become a cop, and he said “Forget it. You can’t make it. You’re not even built right.” I was 140 pounds soaking wet. So, he says, “Why don’t you become a hairdresser?” I said, “What’s that?” He says, “It’s like a barber only you work on women.” And I smiled and said, “Work on women?” And he says, “Yeah – and you’re a veteran now, so the government will pay for school.” So, I smiled and said, “That’s great – where is this school?” I walked into the school in Jamaica, Queens, the next morning and two gorgeous blondes grabbed me and said, “We’ll show you around.” This was in 1951. I filled out the paperwork. I saw them working, putting pin curls up. In those days we did big curls with pins. They don’t do that anymore. They don’t even do curls anymore. They just shake their head dry, squeeze it say, “Yeah, you look gorgeous,” and send them on their way.
(Sal pauses to take a shot and misses.)
SP: Ehhh! Go in! Anyway, that’s how I became a hairdresser. And I wanted to tell you this …
JD: Alright. (laughing)
SP: I was never unemployed. I started my first job and in three months, I started my own business. And it was all uphill. I borrowed all the money I could to buy a salon from a Frenchman who only spoke French to his clients. My lawyer told me I needed a non-compete clause. The Frenchman said, “It can only be three miles!” I said “What the hell is the difference? That’s silly.” He said, “If your customers come to us, we can’t do their hair.” I said “Ahhh.” I got an education in high finances. He went away to France and came back in three months. Opened a salon 3.1 miles away from mine. I said, “That’s fine.” I bought his customers, but I didn’t speak French. They didn’t speak English. They liked me anyway. I was a good-looking guy! Let me show you a picture.
(MW laughs as Sal reaches for his wallet.)
JD: You think these women liked you because of your looks?
SP: I was there for four years, and then I sold it. To a cop. Who wasn’t a hairdresser. He bought it for his girlfriend. And that was that.
MW: What business advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?
SP: If you like what you see, and you think you can do it, go for it! Nothing can hurt. You can do anything that anyone else has done. That’s what I always told my kids.
MW: Give us some advice on raising children.
SP: Spare the rod and you’ll lose your child.
MW: Discipline has been a common theme in our interviews today.
JD: Yeah, but nowadays if you hit a kid …
SP: They’ll arrest you! But you must start out when they are young with the word “No.” You want this? OK, well if you work hard, I’ll give it to you.
JD: What do you miss about the early days of Hilton Head, Sal? You must have moved here in the ’70s, right?
SP: It was 1979. What I miss was the fact that it was young – and everybody knew everybody. If you owned a business, you were recognized. And people were just outrageously wonderful. The real Southerners, they weren’t so friendly. If you told them about how you did something up North, they’d say, “Well, why don’t you go back?” In a nice way, of course.
JD: Did you hang out at the White Parrot or Amadeus?
SP: I used to do shows at the White Parrot.
JD: Whoa now! What kind of “shows?”
SP: Hairdressing shows. Fashion shows. The local clothing shops, Faces, they would all participate. Avis (Rollison) at the Porcupine – and Joni Rosser (the Back Door). That was the group. You knew those people, you were in. And the owner of Faces (Patricia Owen) – she was great too. The models were our customers. I did about three or four shows. We would drink, dance – you know – have a party.
JD: What the heck are those over there? (Jevon nods to paintings on the wall)
SP: I used to paint women. I was in love with women.
MW: You were in love with women?
SP: I love women.
MW: Did you marry?
SP: Yes! Twice.
MW: Give us some marriage advice.
SP: Marriage advice? Don’t get married! No one does it anymore.
MW: That’s the same marriage advice Jevon gives.
JD: I mean …
SP: The young kids aren’t raising kids. They don’t want children. So why get married?
JD: I mean …
SP: You get married to propagate.
EVELYN ANGEVINE SILLA
Date of Birth: August 5, 1930
Jevon Daly: What kind of last name is Silla?
Evelyn Angevine Silla: Italian, my husband was Italian. Señora Silla.
Maggie Washo: I think you’re going to change the way I feel about Leos, Evelyn.
JD: Did you exercise a lot?
EAS: You mean exercise my rights?
JD: I mean, like, walking and stuff.
MW: Do you attribute exercise to your long life and the fact that you’re still so healthy and vibrant?
EAS: Well, I can say this. As my kids were growing up, we lived in Mont Claire – my husband was a commercial photographer and our business was all in New York. I used to go into the city and I was a volunteer at Memorial Sloan
Kettering. I never went through the ropes that people go through. A woman I had met at a lunch took me back to the volunteer office and we chatted, and I became a volunteer –I didn’t go through the program or anything.
JD: You were “grandmothered” in.
EAS: Yes, I guess so. But I got my exercise in with all the walking in New York. I was always walking – and I wore high heels, you know, I was part of that generation. I ruined my feet. I only wear sneakers now.
MW: Did you eat healthy?
EAS: All the time. I always ate well.
MW: There ya go. What about drinking?
EAS: I was a social drinker. I was social smoker. I would light the cigarette, especially when my husband and I split. I would go somewhere and light the cigarette. I was no smoker, but it was an occupation. You had your cigarette lighter, and you brought your pack with the blue label or whatever it was.
MW: It was something to do.
EAS: Well, yeah, because you would go into a place, you’d be alone going to a meeting or anything, and people smoked – so it was an occupation – you’re standing by yourself until you get into it …
JD: You were occupying a space waiting. It was almost like an invitation – “Can you light my cigarette?”
EAS: Oh no! I wasn’t inviting.
JD: Oh.
EAS: (hysterically laughing) I got independent.
JD: Oh.
EAS: You know I have seven children.
JD: Right.
EAS: So, it was like the little mouse peeked over the wall and saw, “Wow! There’s a whole lot out there.”
JD: Stuff you hadn’t seen while you were raising kids?
EAS: Well, I saw some of it, but I was never in it.
MW: How old were you when you got married?
EAS: The week before I turned 20. I had four children by the time I was 28. It was beautiful, you know – it’s what people did. The war was over before that time. I was at the tail end of that crowd. America was in a different frame of mind. Everyone had come home.
JD: We haven’t really experienced that in our lifetime. We haven’t had a world war where it was so big.
EAS: Right, not like that. And when the Korean War happened, that was a horrible war. The Korean vets suffered more than any of us realized, and the toll was not so much about the battle of the guns, it was the battle they were fighting with the drugs and stuff. It was a different generation, they had different input, and they didn’t know how to fight that battle.
MW: Vietnam, too.
EAS: Vietnam the same thing. We had a house at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, and there was a whole enclave of Vietnam vets, and those men suffered so much in their lives.
JD: I don’t think PTSD was really discussed back then.
EAS: No one even understood it! They were embarrassed or ashamed and they were suffering.
JD: Right, because they were supposed to be tough …
EAS: That’s right. “Suck it up!”
JD: Before the cameras came on, we were talking about kids on their phones all day these days, but I will say mental health has become something that no one is afraid to talk about anymore.
MW: What role has faith played in your life?
EAS: Faith has really pulled me through – many times when I didn’t even know I had the faith. And I wasn’t even thinking about my faith. We get into trouble in our lives, you know, all of us.
MW: We sure do.
JD: I got in trouble today.
EAS: (laughs loudly)
JD: You know, but luckily …
EAS: Well, you got enough stamina left to come here, so …
JD: Stamina has never been my problem.
MW: His mouth is the problem.
EAS: You know, sometimes you can’t help it when you get in trouble.
JD: What was the first family car you remember?
EAS: When my husband and I were first married (we got married six months after we met) we had a Kaiser. I told him I knew how to drive. So, he let me drive. And we came out of the driveway and around the corner and I drove right up onto someone’s lawn. (laughs hysterically). That was my first real drive.
MW: How long were you married?
EAS: Oh, let’s see … we were married in 1950… and we had all those kids … probably 35 years. We did eventually divorce. But the Lord blessed me in every way. I am happy every day.
MW: What was your best decade?
EAS: Oh, they were all very wonderful.
JD: Growing up in New York City, were you a Broadway person, or a sports person, or did you go see music?
EAS: I always loved music. I wasn’t a Broadway person because that took money in those days. But when I was nine years old, I had a little radio – it was probably $3. On a Saturday afternoon, I put that little radio on, and I heard the first broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera.
JD: Oh wow.
EAS: From then on, I loved the opera. My youngest daughter trained in voice, but never went anywhere with it.
MW: What did you do for fun when you were younger?
EAS: I always went to see movies at the Roxy. I grew up on Shirley Temple films.
MW: She must have been a big star at the time.
EAS: I remember one time I was crying so hard … I don’t remember what the movie was, but they must have been killing her or something, and my mother had to take me outside. I was probably five or six years old (laughing).
MW: I think I missed the one where they killed Shirley Temple.
EAS: Well, you know, they treated her badly in some of those films. We had wonderful films in America when I was growing up. We had Cecil B DeMille …
JD: What! You mean better than Dumb & Dumber?
EAS: Yeah. (laughing)
JD: Well, now everyone’s phones are entertaining them.
EAS: They are. They don’t have to go anywhere. It’s a whole different scene – but what will it do to our part of what we put in?
JD: We don’t know yet – but we do know what it’s doing to our culture. We think it’s making us smarter.
EAS: See, I don’t feel that way.
MW: I agree with you Evelyn.
JD: I was kind of joking. Creating things is different now.
EAS: It sure is, and when the computer stuff all began, I was very “anti” all of it. And that was a mistake on my part – because I haven’t kept up with it. I have a cell phone, and I can get a lot of things on there – I know how to text. But that’s as far as I went because I really resented what I saw happening socially, just with my kids and grandkids, and I had a built-in resistance to it.
JD: Well sure.
EAS: But a lot of other older people didn’t resist it – so they’re in with it – and they know how to handle it.
JD: Well, you know we feel that way. And we’re only –well, Maggie is 29, and I’m …
EAS: You’re just a baby, Maggie!
JD: She’s 29 … and I’m 52. We think we know…
EAS: He’s really 52?
MW: He’s really 52.
EAS: Well, you’re in your prime.
JD: Well … you still seem like you are in your prime!
EAS: I love my life.
JD: You seem like you’re doing great right now. You don’t seem like you need help.
EAS: So far so good! The Lord has blessed me.
JD: Wait, hold on – do you need a man?
EAS: NO! (laughing) Been there, done that! But I still think that some men are cute. But I don’t want one. (laughs hysterically)
JD: Window shopping is fine. Or like you can go to the petting zoo … like if you want to pet me (Jevon takes off his hat and lets Evelyn rub his head, laughing), and then I’ll just go back in my cage.
EAS: (still laughing)
JD: What are some things that you like to do every day?
EAS: Get up!
JD: Right?! How long do you sleep?
EAS: I go to bed about 11:30 p.m. and I get up at about 7:30 or 7:45. Some mornings I get up earlier – because I have a job.
JD: What do you mean you have a job?
EAS: So, I went to the Anglican Church – and you know, I love it. I love the pomp and circumstance of it. I do. They carry the cross, they have hymn books in the pews, and a woman playing the organ. I love to get dressed up for church. I go there on Thursdays and answer the phone at the desk. I have a driver that takes me.
JD: We are going to be late to our next interview.
EAS: Goodbye, God bless you!
MW: Evelyn, you are literally the best.
MODELED BY TAYLOR KENT . STYLED BY KAILA JEFFCOAT
ARTICLE BY CHERYL RICER . PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
Making “Cents” of Shopping Secondhand
THRIFTING THROUGH THE WORLD OF FURNITURE, FASHION, AND FLAIR ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Americans have never bought so many new things. U.S. retailers churn out a record $5 trillion in goods each year, according to the National Retail Federation. At the same time, the surge in e-commerce is flooding the market with unsold inventory, returns, and secondhand items.
Whereas only about 8% of goods bought in a store are returned, more than 20% of items bought online are sent back. For clothing, that number can soar as high as 40%. That has left a mountain of stuff that needs to go somewhere. And that doesn’t even count the stuff that we need to purge from our own homes.
Is thrifting the answer?
Some call their shopping experiences “treasure hunts” and can spend an entire day perusing through aisles and racks. Some know exactly what they are looking for. Others are searching for
particular brands at particular prices that they know they can snag for a bargain and resell for a profit. Whatever their motivation, these folks, commonly called “thrifters,” are shopping in a way that is both financially savvy and socially responsible.
Thrift stores and consignment stores sell previously owned wares. The items are sold at significantly reduced prices compared to traditional retail stores, making thrift and consignment stores an affordable shopping option. Thrift stores sell donated items, while consignment stores sell items no longer needed by the folks who consign the items.
Because the inventory is constantly changing and typically unique, many thrifters frequent their favorite stores several times a month – even weekly – to find all manner of merchandise, from antiques and collectibles to retro fashions and modern brands.
The economic benefits thrifting provides are enjoyed by both shoppers and communities. For
Taylor Kent models an ensemble from Three Sisters Resale & More at Capital Coffee & Chillers
shoppers, the low prices afford people a chance to save or make money by purchasing items they may not otherwise afford. Simultaneously, thrift stores create jobs, support charities, reduce waste, and stimulate local economies.
Possibly due to one or a combination of these benefits, recently there has been an upsurge in thrifting. Selling used items is big business. For example, one recent study estimates the resale industry in the U.S. to have annual revenues of approximately $13 billion.
Donating and shopping at thrift stores significantly reduces waste and environmental impact. In the U.S., individuals throw out 60 to 80 pounds of textile waste each year – the EPA estimates that as more than 17 million tons. Donating gently used clothing, furniture, electronics, books, and other household items to thrift stores gives those items a second life and prevents them from clogging up landfills where it can take months and even years for these materials to fully break down.
In what began out of necessity as a teenager, Iva Lazovic, a Hilton Head local, has now made a career for herself shopping in secondhand stores from here to Savannah, then reselling her finds for a profit. Some of her favorite shops are The Litter Box and Goodwill on the island, Goodwill in Bluffton, and Savannah Goodwill Bins.
Previously in the food and beverage industry, Lazovic eventually realized that she could make as much money by listing four or five articles of clothing a week on Poshmark as she could make in seven or eight hours in the restaurant.
“At the beginning, Poshmark was just traditional sales,” Lazovic said. “I would take pictures and list items and just hope that they sell by sharing them to random users and creating connections through the platform. Then, Poshmark created a feature where sellers can livestream, and it changed everything for me. People bid on specific items in my ‘closet’ in real time. I now livestream my items three times a week and make as much money as I ever made in the service industry.”
In fact, due to her remarkable success, Poshmark invited Lazovic to New York City to feature her on their platform. She shared with their global audience what she does to generate success. Primarily, Lazovic said, she is successful because she is her authentic self online. Additionally, she has some tips and tricks, one of which is finding BOLO brands. “BOLO” is an acronym for “be on the look out” and is a term used in reselling to refer to products that are in high demand and can be sold for a profit. BOLOs are often shared in Facebook groups or other online communities and can help sellers find profitable products to sell. Some of Lazovic’s BOLO brands are St. John, Lululemon, Diane Von Furstenberg, Free People, Lilly Pulitzer, Revolve, Z Supply, Miss Me, and Johnny Was.
Lazovic also recommends using Google Lens when thrifting to find comps (comparable previous sales) and make sure that you aren’t paying so much that you won’t profit. (There are fees for using the Poshmark app.)
“Don’t just pick up anything you see,” she advises. “Even if it’s a high-end brand, it may not sell. Take a screenshot of the item, search on Google Lens, and see what it’s listing for elsewhere. Also, be fully transparent about any flaws.
While people will buy things that have flaws, be honest because you do not want a case opened up against you on any selling platform.”
Finally, Lazovic advises having a system of organization, such as putting items in poly mailers or plastic bags for easy shipping. This will help you to move things efficiently and avoid sitting on inventory.
“You want to move stuff before you buy more, so you don’t become a hoarder,” Lazovic said. “Never go sourcing when you’re sitting on what we call a ‘death pile.’”
While Lazovic never throws clothes away, she doesn’t hoard. When she has a pile of items that haven’t sold, she donates them back into the recycling chain, confessing that though she enjoys the money she makes and the fun she has thrifting, she gets a lot of satisfaction from knowing that she is helping to reduce waste on the planet.
On the island, Lazovic shops and donates to The Litter Box, which benefits the Hilton Head Humane Association.
“The Litter Box thrift store originated to support the island’s feral cat program, which is a free Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program for the community of Hilton Head and all of Beaufort County,” said Franny Gerthoffer, board member and executive director of the animal rescue and shelter.
The Litter Box began 24 years ago in a garage with the mission to raise money to neuter feral cats. Because they didn’t have any money for rent, the group went around to empty storefronts and set up until the storefronts were leased.
“Our plan was to bring activity and interest to the landlord’s storefront if they let us set up there,” Gerthoffer said. “Finally, we raised enough money to pay rent.”
Artwork on display at Vintage Market in Bluffton.
Taylor’s ensemble styled from Goodwill by Kaila Jeffcoat.
Paintings sit waiting for wall space at Classic Consignments on Arrow Road.
Now, The Litter Box has a permanent home on Old Wild Horse Road, and now the money they raise helps not just feral cats, but all stray animals on Hilton Head.
Gerthoffer reports that typically when people donate to the thrift store, they then buy somebody else’s stuff, so the recycling wheel keeps rolling. The Litter Box also recycles with a textile company, so the linens and clothes that they don’t sell are recycled and kept out of the landfill. In return, The Litter Box (and our island animals) get pennies on the dollar for the pounds of clothing that they donate.
The Litter Box offers knick knacks, dishware, appliances, clothes, higher end boutique items, and lots of furniture. There is a home improvement section with equipment like hammers, screw guns, nails, clips, and the like. They also
have a garden area and an impressive selection of books.
“We actually have different book companies come in, go through our books, and buy them because they know we have some real treasures,” Gerthoffer said. “A book that we might sell for $1 can resell for $50 through the right platform.”
For rental properties that are turning their furniture over, The Litter Box is a good place to bring furniture or for rental property owners to outfit their homes inexpensively but with a great aesthetic. There are dining sets, chairs, armoires, custom bathroom and kitchen sinks and counters, lots of living room furniture.
“And for people who are redoing an area in their home, like their kitchen, instead of just letting the reno company
Making “Cents” of Shopping Secondhand
Furniture and paintings are artfullly arranged at Coastal Exchange in Old Town Bluffton.
tear it out and haul it away, we have a big truck and drivers who will pick up your furniture and appliance donations and bring them to the store for resale,” Gerthoffer said.
The Litter Box posts their treasures on Facebook, their website, and their eBay store, where they offer a lot of highend items and collectibles. Other than their one full-time manager and two part-time employees, The Litter Box is run by volunteers, which means aside from the cost of personnel, rent and utilities, all the profit goes to the animals.
Another island treasure trove for thrifters is Three Sisters Resale & More, a consignment shop owned by – surprise! –three sisters, Carol Monahan, Janet Adams, and Kathie Tofaute. The owners are celebrating their 10th year in business.
When you inquire as to the roots of their passion for repurposing, reclaiming, upcycling, and collecting vintage items and antiques, they credit their parents.
“The anticipation of the hunt, the excitement when special items are found, and the continued enjoyment of those treasures is in our blood,” Monahan said. “In our store we sell a little bit of everything. We have repurposed, reclaimed, upcycled, vintage, and new items, which includes clothing, books, small furniture, sports memorabilia, artwork, kitchen items, china, crystal, and more. Currently, we even have two vintage marionettes in the store.”
As a consignment shop, they take things in, and the consigners sign a contract for a year, which is the normal cycle for tourists. After a year, if the item hasn’t sold, the consigner can either pick it up or they become property of the store, where the sisters will either donate the item or take it into inventory. Once an item is sold, the consigner receives 40%, and the store keeps 60% of the selling price. While the store is a for-profit business, they do donate a portion of every sale to one of four charities.
“Currently we are promoting MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, Hopeful Horizons, Daufuskie Island Turtle Team, and the Ukraine,” Monahan said. Each customer gets to select the charity of their choice to receive proceeds from a percentage of their sale.
Three Sisters customers include both locals and tourists from all over the world – even consigners from as far away as Holland.
Making donations to thrift stores fuels artists and creatives who upcycle furniture and recreate clothing. One of Lazovic’s favorite people to donate her unsold items to is Susan Rafetto of Peace by Piece. Rafetto repurposes thrift store clothing
A vintage leather bag at Classic Consignments
by upcycling it into brand new, oneof-a-kind (and even custom) pieces by hand. The mission of her business is to rescue pieces that still have “good bones” from the landfills, ultimately bringing more peace to the planet. As well, her passion is to make people feel good in their clothes.
Rafetto’s mom and grandmom made all of her and her twin sister’s clothes when they were growing up, so she developed an appreciation and proclivity for sewing. When she was moving to Hilton Head, she was hoping to purge some clothes from her closet and began throwing things on the bed. In a moment, she thought, “I don’t really wear these anymore, but I really like the fabric of this piece and the collar and sleeves of this piece. … I wonder if I could upcycle them into a brand-new top?” She loved the result, and her business was born.
Since then, Rafetto scours local thrift stores for unique pieces that stand out, either from fabric or design, then she marries her finds to create amazing, upcycled fashion that others feel great about buying and wearing. She also collaborates with people like Lazovic and those who have sentimental items they don’t want to get rid or don’t know what to do with.
“I just created a beautiful piece for a woman who lost her parents and siblings in an accident a few years ago,” Rafetto said. “She had a robe and a hoodie and a couple of other items from her family. She gave them to me with full creative license, and I was able to transform them into something beautiful that not only she absolutely loves, but that she can wear whenever she wants.”
Shopping at thrift stores provides essential financial support for charities and nonprofit organizations. A large percentage of revenues from thrift stores goes directly to funding charitable causes and local community programs.
For example, Goodwill Industries International and The Salvation Army operate thousands of thrift stores worldwide, using the proceeds to provide job training, education, and other social services to people
Ensemble from The Litter Box. Vintage suitcases found by editor whilst thrifting in Palm Harbor, FL.
in need. When you buy products at Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, your shopping dollars directly enable these organizations to carry out their charitable missions.
Other thrift stores may support medical research, local churches, the arts, or various other causes. Shopping at a thrift store allows customers to donate to a good cause just by purchasing the items. The charitable donations generated each year from thrift store sales are enormous, providing critical funding that keeps many worthy programs running.
Thrift stores provide employment opportunities for local citizens, including those from marginalized groups who might have difficulty finding work elsewhere. Working at a thrift store offers an inclusive, supportive environment for employees to gain job skills and experience. They can sort donations, arrange displays, work the cash register, and clean. The jobs also provide a steady income, a sense of purpose, and, many times, health insurance and retirement that may otherwise be unattainable.
Thrift shops also create secondary jobs and economic ripple effects. Thrift stores contract with local companies for services like trucking to pick up donations, maintenance, construction, and more. Thrift store employees also go back into the community through spending at other local businesses. In this way, even a single thrift store can create numerous jobs and touch many lives through employment and economic opportunity.
Some industry experts predict that in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to walk into a any local small business and even some big box stores and see a comparable display of new and used stuff, sparking the question, “Why buy anything new?” It’s so easy now, especially with the incredible surplus of really cool and barely used goods coming into the pipeline, just to crank up the volume on used goods and lower the volume on new.
The point is that ownership can be a less permanent fixation. It’s entirely possible – and even preferable for many – to have fewer, better things in our lives. Once they’re no longer needed, we let them go to the next owner. Consumption becomes completely circular, and shopping secondhand not only makes sense, but “cents.”
The newly unveiled Veranda at Arthur Hills, designed by Tim Probst of Parker Design Group and built by Detailed Property Services, serves as a gorgeous standard bearer to the new look at Palmetto Dunes.
Article by Barry Kaufman
Photography by
M.Kat
THE VERANDA AT ARTHUR HILLS
A Room to Remember
Palmetto Dunes Resort unveils the latest chapter in its ongoing refresh
You might look at the array of improvements that have been announced over the past few years at Palmetto Dunes and rightfully think of it as a leap forward for the venerated resort community. After all, within the past four years we’ve seen numerous updates, including the addition of the Toptracer Range, the only covered driving range on Hilton Head Island offering casual seating and food and beverage service; massive renovations at the Arthur Hills Course, Robert Trent Jones Course, and the Fazio course; a complete remodel of the Hilton Head Outfitters dock; updates to The Dunes House, Palmetto Dunes General Store, and the pickleball courts; plus extensive upgrades to infrastructure around the resort.
And the piece de resistance of this resort renaissance is plain to see from the photos you see on these pages. The newly unveiled Veranda at Arthur Hills, designed by Tim Probst of Parker Design Group and built by Detailed Property Services, serves as a gorgeous standard bearer to the new look at
Palmetto Dunes.
“It seems like it’s been a four-year process, but it has really been a 40-year process. There is no finish line,” said Bubba Self, president of Greenwood Communities & Resorts. “We’re a big, fixed-asset business. We can’t stop cutting the grass, and we can’t stop updating to make sure everything is up to our standards.”
We’re sitting amid the updated elegance of the Arthur Hills Grill as we discuss the new updates. Surrounding us, fresh shiplap wainscoting contrasts against jet black steel chairs set around concrete-topped dining tables. The polished granite bar, gleaming in the early morning sun, is already serving hungry golfers as they make the turn at on the Arthur Hills course. During
the warm summer months, the wide accordion doors along one wall are shut. In days of milder weather, they open wide to coax in lush breezes off the course.
“It was a little dated in here before. It was built in 1986 and hadn’t really been renovated, so over the past year or so we have invested about $1 million in the interior of this building to get it to where we like it,” said Brad Marra, chief operating officer of Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort. “We’ve really elevated this space and we’re already seeing increased traffic all around.”
The Arthur Hills Grill sits at one end of the course’s clubhouse, across a central atrium that exults in the many upgrades that have redefined the space. The pro shop has been renovated to include an assortment of men’s and
The table is set for a corporate or special event.
The ceremony arbor features the bride’s chosen color scheme in ribbons and florals.
A wide variety of menu options is available for any event, from plated dinner service to buffets.
A beautiful sunset awaits the bride and groom and their guests.
ladies’ golf apparel and accessories with a rejuvenated sense of class. But at the far end of the building, it’s the breathtaking new veranda that truly drives home what a transformation this has been.
“When we first built the course in the ’80s, this was all locker rooms,” Self explained. “They were never used, so it was really cool to totally repurpose this space.”
The Veranda now basks in 2,642 square feet of elegant space, providing a beautiful venue for weddings, celebrations and special events for up to 160 people. Extending outward from the original footprint, the room now fills the eye with views that stretch down the driving range, to a quiet grassy area where a simple arbor creates a blissful spot for a wedding ceremony.
As with the Arthur Hills Grill, the accordian doors open seamlessly on a track to bring the outside in, creating a unified space between the grand banquet room and the expansive new patio.
Set beneath soaring eaves, the patio was crowned with a roof during renovations, essentially doubling the space in which a wedding party or celebration can spread out. With room for bar services out on the patio wreathed in golf course views, it’s a testament to the powerful impact these renovations have had on the entire experience.
“Honestly, it feels great to have it done. It was a muchneeded update, and having another wedding venue at the resort has been very positive,” Marra said. “Giving people a chance to have a wedding at the beach or the Dunes House, then bringing them over here for a beautiful reception, is something we’re looking forward to.”
“The building and golf course improvements represent a portion of the overall $15 million invested throughout the resort over the past few years.” Self said.
As a venue, it’s enchanting. As something akin to a “finish line” in Palmetto Dunes’ renaissance, it’s a gorgeous crescendo to a song that never really stops playing.
A bar and cocktail table set-up overlooks the golf course.
ARTICLE BY BARRY KAUFMAN
Roots and Rivers Returns
BlacQuity unveils its second celebration of community
LScheduled for 2-8 p.m. September 14 at Oyster Factory Park, 63 Wharf Street, the event will cowboy up with live music from Deas Guyz, line dancing, a mechanical bull, craft beer from Side Hustle Brewing Company, and food trucks. A market showcase will feature a wide assortment of local Black-owned businesses, Black artisans, and Black craftspeople.
aunched in 2020, the nonprofit BlacQuity has already made a huge mark in pursuing its missions to empower Black entrepreneurs. More than 30 local businesses have received expert instruction in growing their business through the organization’s Black Equity University and through one-on-one coaching that continues beyond graduation. Countless more have benefited from being listed in their Black-Owned Business Directory.
But a select few got to grow their business while having the time of their lives at last year’s inaugural Roots & Rivers Festival. This year, they’ll have a chance to do it all again, with a festival that promises to be even more of a can’t-miss event than the first.
“This year, the festival is set to be exceptionally energetic, with an expanded lineup of events and activities that I think festival goers will find captivating,” said BlacQuity Executive Director Gwen Chambers.
Guiding this expanded lineup is the second annual event’s Coastal Cowboy and Cowgirl theme, which Chambers describes as “spirited Southern flair reminiscent of ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ by Beyoncé.” Scheduled for 2-8 p.m. September 14 at Oyster Factory Park, 63 Wharf Street, the event will cowboy up with live music from Deas Guyz, line dancing, a mechanical bull, craft beer from Side Hustle Brewing Company, and food trucks. A market showcase will feature a wide assortment of local Blackowned businesses, Black artisans, and Black craftspeople.
“Additionally, the introduction of a larger KidZone is designed to engage
Attendees will walk away with fond memories of dancing the night away.
Through the Roots & Rivers Festival, BlacQuity is giving the community a chance to see Black-owned businesses in action and meet the people behind them.
General admission tickets for the Roots and Rivers Festival are $15 online, with tickets increasing to $20 at the gate. A limited number of VIP experiences are also available for $125.
more families,” Chambers said. “By weaving educational and entrepreneurial elements into this space, we aim not only to entertain but also to nurture and inspire the next generation of leaders and innovators within our community.”
And community lies at the heart of the event’s motivation. Sure, attendees will walk away with fond memories of dancing the night away, sampling delicious drinks from presenting sponsor Burnt Church Distillery, and watching the sun set from the gorgeous riverfront park. But they’ll also have experienced exactly how much entrepreneurial spirit the Lowcountry’s Black community brings to the table.
“It’s a great opportunity to continue the engagement and for folks to be able to see the fruits of our labor and the excitement of entrepreneurs who have been able to go through the program,” said BlacQuity Co-Founder and Board Member Bridgette Frazier. “It lets people see the work that we’ve done and the way we’ve been able to expand the footprint of what Black businesses are in this community.”
For a community often misrepresented, BlacQuity represents a chance to not only give these entrepreneurs a seat at the table, it represents a way to make the table big enough for everyone. Through the Roots & Rivers Festival, BlacQuity is giving the community a chance to see these businesses in action, meet the people behind them, and gain a better understanding of the impact they make on local business (and have a great time doing it).
“The Roots & Rivers Festival significantly advances BlacQuity’s mission by creating a platform for Black-owned businesses to showcase their products and services,” Chambers said. “It fosters economic empowerment and community cohesion, ensuring that these businesses receive the visibility and support they deserve.”
General admission tickets for the Roots and Rivers Festival are $15 online, with tickets increasing to $20 at the gate. A limited number of VIP experiences are also available for $125.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit rootsandriversfestival. com. To learn more about BlacQuity and its mission to empower Black entrepreneurs, visit blacquitysc.org.
THE FACES OF THE FACES OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Rawn GRant II & RonnIs Gomez Celeste Coastal Cuisine
What is one meal you could never live without?
Rawn: Lasagna is definitely one of my favorites – and Shepherd’s Pie – and mac & cheese!
Ronnis: Bread
Give us your advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs.
Rawn: Have a dream and a plan and enjoy the process of watching all your hard work and dedication become a reality. Enjoy learning new things every day. Don’t be afraid to fail and seek advice, as knowledge resources come in many different shapes and forms.
Ronnis: They need discipline and persistence.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
Rawn: One of our most popular cocktails at the moment is a Pear Martini. Simply delicious and refreshing while not being too sweet. The blackened redfish is definitely one of the best-selling dishes here at Celeste. It’s a great representation of our chef’s culinary influence as well as
our Cajun and New Orleans influence.
Ronnis: Scampi, Jambalaya, Fried Green Tomatoes
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Rawn: Caribbean Islands! Most of my favorite foods are Caribbean. I love and enjoy the creativity, techniques, and ingredients that make up their signature dishes.
Ronnis: Italy!
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
Rawn: Cooking at home is always a joy. To watch ingredients and blend together and create a masterpiece is always so rewarding. It doesn’t always go as planned but definitely satisfying and enjoyable to learn new recipes and techniques.
Ronnis: Definitely cooking at home; it’s good to spend time with family.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love.
Rawn: Red Stripes Caribbean Cuisine & Lounge
Ronnis: One Hot Mamas
Italian or Mexican food?
Rawn: Italian cuisine is definitely one of my favorites.
Ronnis: Italian!
20 Hatton Pl Ste 300, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
(843) 802-4744
www.celestehhi.com
Pete Bernstein
CaCtus street Cantina
What is one meal you could never live without?
A well-cooked steak
Give us your advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs. Make your place yours. Meaning, don’t worry about how “everybody else” does it. Do it your way. Your passion will lead to success.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
All the food is so great at the Cantina that it’s hard to narrow down. To me, the ceviche really stands out. Everybody loves it. Our classic margarita and prickly pear margarita are very popular.
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would like to take a food tour through South America.
Br An Lee Y
Coast/oCean Lounge
What is one meal you could never live without?
Pizza night with my son.
What do you enjoy most about being in this industry?
Have knives, will travel! This industry tends to have a judgment-free, open-door policy, and is full of colorful characters from all corners of the world that utilize humor and hard work to bring their art to the table.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
On the bar side, the Coast Crisp and Negril Punch have been popular over the summer. I hear quite a bit of buzz about the Cuba Libre Braised Shortrib with purple sweet potato puree and Jerk Chicken with rice and peas. The whole roasted snapper is gaining traction and our rotation of fresh local fish is always a staple.
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
I love to cook at home, but can be found dining out often. It just depends on the time of year and how busy we are as a family.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love. I can’t give a shout-out to any one restaurant in particular. There are too many great spots with too many great owners. I’m afraid I’d forget someone
Italian or Mexican food?
Is this a trick question? Haha! I love Italian food, but I don’t want to get in trouble with the boss, so … Mexican.
1407 Main St, Hilton Head Island, SC (843) 715-2246
www.cactusstreetcantina.com
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
The Caribbean. The last couple of years have fueled a fascination with the cuisine, its preparation and ingredients.
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
Cooking at home; my kids are great assistants.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love.
Links, An American Grill is a local favorite of mine but I recently had family in town and we dined at Okan – wow!
Chef Bernard and his team are doing great things. The service was fantastic as well.
Italian or Mexican food? Mexican
87 N Sea Pines Dr, Hilton Head Island, SC (843) 842-1888
valentine Povost, heaD Chef anDre Jaramillo, assistant manaGer amber maDDy, events manaGer (not PiCtureD)
What is one meal you could never live without?
JW: I am sucker for a good burger. My son, Ian, is taking after his dad and has anointed himself as “The Burger King.”
DE: A nice German Schnitzel.
AM: Any kind of pasta.
AJ: I love a good surf & turf.
VP: Real Jamaican Jerk chicken.
Give us your advice to aspiring food entrepreneurs.
JW: My advice to aspiring food entrepreneurs would be to lead by example and understand that no job is beneath you. You’re going to have to get your hands dirty.
DE: Be hands on, control food and labor costs according to your pricing, teach and learn!
AM: Great teams build great businesses.
AJ: The quality of your product is very important.
VP: Have a professionally trained staff and listen to your customer.
What dishes are your customers favorites?
JW: Our most popular entrees are typically the scallops and grouper, while our citrus mint julep and SS Refresh have been the most popular beverages.
DE: Scallops with crab risotto, salmon Rockefeller, Old Fashioned (because we have 10 bourbons to choose from), SS Refresh and the espresso martini
AM: The scallops have been a favorite for years, and the lemon basil martini.
AJ: Scallops and the grouper dish; the Bee’s Knees cocktail.
VP: The Diver Scallops and the Raspberry Cosmo.
If you could go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
JW: Italy.
DE: Europe. Specifically, Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy.
AM: Italy.
AJ: Dubai, Italy, and France are places I would like to visit.
VP: France.
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
JW: Because I work in restaurants, I prefer cooking at home, but also enjoy going out to dinner with the family.
DE: Depends on what is in the fridge.
AM: Cooking at home! I love to cook.
AJ: I love to cook at home.
VP: Cooking at home.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love.
JW: Santa Fe has always been a favorite of mine.
DE: Shout out to Flora’s!
AM: Fiesta Fresh!
AJ: Shout-out to Tio’s.
VP: Jane Bistro.
Italian or Mexican Food?
JW: This question gives me major anxiety but I’m going to pick Italian.
DE: Italian.
AM: This is a tough one. With my above answers, it’s clearly neck and neck. But if there has to be one winner, it would be Italian (my grandma would be happy).
AJ: Mexican.
VP: Italian.
Shelter Cove Harbour Shops & Restaurants
1 Shelter Cove Ln, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 785-3030 www.elasgrille.com
Amie BAimA & evAn Berkner
SkilletS Café & Grill
What is one meal you could never live without?
AB: Pasta
EB: Man, I love food too much but probably any cut of steak. Ribeye preferred.
Give us your advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs.
AB: Put the hours in but don’t let the work run your life. I haven’t perfected this one yet.
EB: For the Lowcountry area especially, don’t plan on your day off actually being a full day off, because you usually end up going into work – especially if it’s during the season. Also, we all know each other down here so don’t burn bridges if you are leaving a restaurant to go somewhere else.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
AB: Breakfast: Stuffed French toast. Lunch: French Dip. Dinner: Lowcountry boil and fried shrimp. Drink: Cococabana and Bloody Mary.
EB: For breakfast, the Kitchen
Sink; for lunch, probably our triple decker club; and for dinner, fried chicken. Then from the bar, Bloody Mary all the way.
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
AB: France
EB: Japan
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
AB: Staying home and having someone cook for me!
EB: Cooking dinner together with my mom – not her watching me. Oh, how the tables have turned!
Give a shout out to a local restaurant you love.
AB: Pomadori, Nunzio, or Gusto
EB: Fiesta Fresh
Italian or Mexican?
AB: Mexican
EB: This isn’t fair – but Mexican.
Located in Coligny Plaza 1 N Forest Beach DrIve Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 785-3131
www.skilletscafe.com
munjid And TAmmy yousif
What is one meal you could never live without?
MY: I am not picky, but no pork!
TY: Center-cut pork chops (ha ha) with mashed potatoes and a rich gravy.
Give us your advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs
MY: Be passionate to your love of creating and a good food experience for your guests. Keep creating.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
MY: The Mixed Grill Platter is our most requested dish.
TY: Our most popular cocktails are the Paper Plane and the Olive + Fig Pomegranate Martini.
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
MY: Japan.
TY: Every country in the world!
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
MY: We love to do both.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love.
TY & MY: Hinoki. We love sushi.
Italian or Mexican food?
TY & MY: Italian!
1533 Fording Island Rd #326, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
(843) 707-1934
www.olivefig.net
Amber rodriguez, mAnAger glenroy benskin, Chef
The Pearl ki T chen + Bar
What is one meal you could never live without?
AR: Since moving to the Lowcountry six years ago, I’d have to say shrimp and grits.
GB: My mom’s brown stew chicken over rice.
What advice would you give to aspiring food entrepreneurs?
AR: My advice would be that mistakes are chances for growth and learning. Don’t let them discourage you. Utilize your team and always remember that collaboration and communication are key factors to success.
GB: Study your craft. Be true and patient with what you’re doing and get rid of the ego.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
AR: Our redfish dish topped with lump crab and a citrus buerre blanc has always been a fan favorite. Can’t miss our muddled blackberry mule for a great cocktail, or our house made peach and banana bread pudding.
GB: We have a Blackened South Carolina
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
AR: After working with Chef Benskin, I’d really love to tour the Caribbean and experience all of the great food and flavors he is inspired by.
GB: I would love to travel the West African coastal areas and really try authentic food.
Cooking at home, or going out to dinner?
AR: Going out always. It’s so nice to spend time with my family on the other side of a fabulous service. Plus, no dishes to clean!
GB: I’d rather eat at home- as long as I’m not cooking!
Give us a shout out to a local restaurant you love.
AR: Bowdies Chophouse. The portion sizes are great and flavors are all phenomenal!
GB: Shout out to Naan Indian cusine.
Italian or Mexican Food?
AR: Definitely Mexican
GB: Mexican, all day.
55 Calhoun St. Bluffton, SC 29910 (843) 757-5511
www.thepearlbluffton.com
Redfish with Crab that’s to die for. Also, an old school Lobster Carbonara that they just love.
Donna Williams AlexAnder’s restAurAnt & Wine BAr
What is one meal you could never live without?
Filet Mignon
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
Shrimp and Grits and Grapefruit Cosmopolitan
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Paris
Cooking at home or going out for dinner? That’s tricky – I love to go out, but my husband loves
Can Cekil
What is one meal you could never live without?
Turkish ravioli, a.k.a. manti – dough stuffed with seasoned ground beef. Then topped with garlic yogurt dressing and chili butter. Oh my!
Give us your advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs. You have to love what you do. It is a real thin line between service and hospitality.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
The Classic Blue Martini, perfect for gin lovers. Old Fashioned. Our shellfish
for me to cook at home on my nights off.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love.
Red Fish
Italian or Mexican food? Hmmm … both!
What’s your favorite thing about working in the food and beverage business? I love interacting with so many different people from all over the world. It has been a joy to see families return year after year and watch the kids grow, and make many friends along the way.
76 Queens Folly Rd. Hilton Head Island, SC (855) 706-4319
www.alexandersrestaurant.com
pasta with a rich, creamy sauce is phenomenal and loaded with seafood.
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go? Anywhere in the Mediterranean.
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
I’m the head chef of my house so, of course, I love to cook at home.
Give a shout out to local restaurants you love. Nunzio, Hinchey’s, New York City Pizza
Italian or Mexican food?
Italian Harbour Town / Sea Pines
140 Lighthouse Rd. Hilton Head Island, SC (843) 671-2779
www.cqsrestaurant.com
yakshi and damien Carlino
What is one meal you could never live without?
YC: I could not live without shrimp tacos!
DC: Italian Hero
Give us your advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs.
YC: My advice would be to always put your best self forward to the customers, always have confidence in yourself and your product, and don’t cut corners. The love for your business will show up in your food and how you present yourself as an owner.
DC: My advice would be to take risks that take you outside your
comfort zone. These risks may seem stressful and scary at the time but if you trust in yourself and the process you will make it to where you want to be.
Which dishes and drinks are your customers’ favorites?
YC: Definitely the garlic bread appetizer. For dishes, the lasagna, Bolognese, and eggplant parmigiana. For drinks, the espresso martini and the St. Germaine Spritz.
DC: For appetizer, the meatballs. For dishes, the warm salad, market fish, and lasagna. For drinks, the Al Dente Negroni and the Hendrick’s Garden.
If you were to go on a food tour anywhere in the world, where would you go?
YC: Definitely Italy!
DC: Greece
Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
YC: I just love going out to dinner.
DC: Going out for dinner.
Give a shout-out to a local restaurant you love.
YC: I love Hudson’s Seafood.
DC: Truffles Cafe
Italian or Mexican Food?
Both: Italian, of course!
Located in Coligny next to Haskins & Co.
1 N. Forest Beach Drive
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 802-0125
cafealdentehhi.com
Cafe al dente in Coligny
Zunzibar is located off of Pope Avenue at 8 Executive Park Drive.
Oliver’s Lunch Bowl
ARTICLE BY CHERYL RICER . PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
zunzibar
NEW BEACH-THEMED SPORTS BAR AIMS TO SET NEW STANDARD FOR LOCAL FOOD, FUN, AND FANS.
If you have driven down Pope Avenue in Hilton Head recently, you might have noticed the multi-colored, festive flock of umbrellas on the corner of Executive Park Drive and thought, “How fun does that place look?” That’s exactly the effect Chris Smith, Zunzibar co-founder and CEO, was hoping to achieve.
Before I knew I’d be writing about Zunzibar, the new beach-themed sports bar on Pope Avenue and Executive Park Drive, I had already heard about their famous sauces and slogan from some friends who were familiar with their fare from the original Savannah location (Zunzi’s).
When I arrived at Zunzibar for our interview, I was greeted by the upbeat music floating from the restaurant, outside to the umbrella-covered deck, and into the parking lot. I was greeted by staff with happy smiles who seated me at one of the hightops. I was impressed by the clean, crisp, colorful aesthetic and the televisions visible from every seat in the house displaying a variety of sports. Next, Larry Belton, Zunzibar’s training manager and longtime associate of Smith, came over to let me know that food and drinks would be right out.
In a matter of minutes, in front of me were four mouth-watering dishes, including the original fan favorite sandwich, The Conquistador (marinated grilled chicken, provolone, lettuce, and tomato, housed in French bread and doused with their signature sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan); Lowcountry Peel & Eat Shrimp (locally sourced and
perfectly punctuated with Zunzi’s house seasoning, and served with their house cocktail sauce and a lemon); a basket of wings featuring both the PeriPeri and Dank sauces; along with the Slaap Chip Nachos (onions, peppers, Peri-Peri cheese, and sour cream tossed with both smoked and Boerewors sausage atop the freshly made Zunzi’s house chips).
I was also presented with three beachy beverages to sip on: the Mango Tango (a fruity, frozen tequila beverage), The Coco-Mo (made with coconut rum, mint and lime), and the High Rise Seltzer (a CBD-infused beverage from the Hemp Menu).
I can honestly report that all the dishes were satisfying. Each was unique in flavor and exceptionally seasoned, thanks mostly to the signature sauces – which, by the way, are available with their fresh Zunzi’s House Chips as a “flight” option on the menu, seven sauces in all. As well, every menu item is either made with a signature sauce or served with one on the side as a dip.
Other menu items are a variety of sandwiches that feature sausage, chicken, seafood, and even falafel for the vegetarian palate. Bowls, too, are fan favorites, with either mashed potatoes or rice, a side salad, and French bread. You choose your protein and sauce. Bar bites and a fun kid’s menu round out the dining options.
Beverages are plentiful, tasty, and fresh. Choose from frozen drinks, a variety of margaritas, islandthemed craft cocktails, the hemp-infused cans,
beers and seltzers, and wine and bubbles. Ready to party? Order a “Shot-Ski” with up to four shots to share.
For those who prefer non-alcoholic drinks, try any of their signature Cocktails as Mocktails, or opt for their famous Zunzi’s tea, which can be addictive! It’s a fusion of peach rooibos and peach black teas that some people, including owner Smith, insist on having daily.
Smith said that much of the success he is experiencing comes from years in the industry as an owner of seven Five Guys franchises. In 2008, he was looking for his “next thing to do” when he fell in love with the globally inspired menu and vibe of Zunzi’s. Founded in Savannah in 2005, Zunzi’s is an award-winning takeout, delivery, and catering restaurant. Smith became friendly with the founders and told them that if they ever wanted to sell, he was more than interested.
In 2014, they called. Smith purchased the company and hit the ground running to open a second location
in Atlanta. In 2020, during the pandemic, Zunzi’s lost the lease on the downtown Savannah location. And that was when the Zunzibar concept was born.
“I had always wanted to open a beach bar, and I realized that it was the perfect time to expand the current theme and create Zunzibar, a beachy sports bar with Zunzi’s food,” Smith said. “Our first was in Savannah (236 Drayton St.), and it turned out great. We tripled sales, and in the process, we were able to create a fun concept where the brand blossomed even more.”
The inspiration for the Zunzibar aesthetic came from the original founder, who put the colorful umbrellas out to remind him to live life each day as if he was on vacation at the beach. He named the original concept Zunzi’s after Zanzibar in Tanzania because it was his favorite place to vacation.
As for Zunzibar’s food, Smith took the Zunzi’s menu and enhanced it, adding wings, fresh homemade chips,
The grand opening celebration and ribboncutting with the Hilton Head Island- Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
The Conquistador
and Lowcountry peel and eat shrimp. While Zunzi’s always has great food, the sauces are the real star. As the menu evolves, the goal is to make food that would be a great vessel for all the different sauces and flavors.
On the bar side, the goal is to keep it fresh, so drink offerings are seasonal menus that will roll out three or four times a year, featuring elevated beach cocktails in a fun environment.
The Zunzibar brand mission is to be the best happy hour on the island – a place where you want to celebrate your life, bring your friends – and they are truly focused on locals.
“I’ve been in the restaurant business in the Lowcountry for 15 years,” Smith said. “I love Hilton Head, and we want to do things right. I’ve got great partners and people on board and we’re very purpose driven. Our vision is to set a new standard in the industry, so much so that we inspire other restaurants to rethink how they do business.”
One of the ways Smith is elevating his business is through their 26 CLUB, a text message club where members receive ridiculously affordable, fun, and creative offers. Text CH2 to (912) 207-7551 to join and become a fan. All club perks are available at 26club.com.
Zunzibar also partners with the local community by giving a percentage of every sale to a nonprofit that aligns with their mission.
“The more we grow, the more we can give,” Smith said. “And the reason we chose philanthropy as one of our values is so our giving can be unlimited. There will always be a need. Our company culture is to be a part of the community and give back in different ways. We believe it really starts with the service industry.”
Zunzibar values all service industry workers so much that if you’re in the service industry, you get half off food all day, every day, open to close. Even if you come during happy hour, you’re going to get an amazing meal and an amazing deal.
At Zunzibar, what you can expect is flavorful, fresh, award-winning sandwiches, wings, and chips, handcrafted cocktails in a fun, beachy sports bar environment. There is live music Thursday through Sunday, and two Happy Hours daily, suited for every schedule. The first, from 4 to 7 p.m., includes adult beverages; the second, 10-11 p.m., includes discounted appetizers and wings. Both include free chips and Dank sauce at the bar and a koozie for your first can.
Starting in the fall, Zunzibar will be a great spot to enjoy all the football games, and a lot of specials to bring friends and fun together.
To enjoy life like you’re at the beach (because that’s where you are), visit Zunzibar.com or, better yet, visit them at 8 Executive Park Drive. You can thank me later!
The entrance to the Hilton Head Island Zunzibar location.
Chef Lynn Michelle & Cassandra Shultz
Cooking StapleS
FRENCH SILK CHOCOLATE PIE
Courtesy Chef Lynn Michelle
Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup fine sugar
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 pasteurized eggs
In a large bowl, mix softened butter, sugar, vanilla and melted chocolate. When adding pasteurized eggs, add one at a time and beat each egg into mixture for 5 minutes, for a total of 10 minutes.
Pour chocolate mixture into baked phyllo dough crust and place into the refrigerator for 2 hours. Top with fresh whipped cream.
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.
Brush the bottom and side of the pie pan with the butter mixture using the pastry brush.
Place one sheet of phyllo dough over the pan and brush with butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough in the alternate direction and brush with butter.
Repeat this method with the phyllo dough sheets and butter until the 10-12 sheets are completed.
Using clean scissors, cut the phyllo dough sheets that hang over the outside of the pie pan. Follow the pie pan around while cutting the phyllo dough away.
Top with more butter mixture.
Place the pie pan into the preheated oven until golden brown, around 10-12 minutes. The dough might puff up a bit.
Let the pie crust cool completely and then fill with chocolate filling and refrigerate.
We asked our resident cooking experts Chef Lynn Michelle, the East Coast Chef, and Cassandra Shultz, owner of Cassandra’s Kitchen store in The Promenade in Bluffton, to send us a few of their favorite recipes for our Love Affair with Food Issue. Thankfully, one went healthy and one went, well, maybe not super healthy. - but absolutely delectable! Read on and save these for the next time you are hosting a dinner party. We present a perfect salad starter and a delicious dessert to end the evening.
Fresh Whipped Cream
1 pint of heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup sugar
Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix on high until stiff peaks appear in the mixture.
Phyllo Dough Crust 10-12 sheets of phyllo dough
Butter, melted 1/4 cup Grand Marnier (optional), add to melted butter if desired
Needed: Pastry brush, Pie pan
BIBB SALAD WITH BASIL GREEN GODDESS DRESSING
Courtesy Ina Garten and Cassandra’s Kitchen Store, Bluffton
This salad is so simple and delicious, you’ll be craving it all year long. It’s up there with one of the easiest things to make and you will look like a star – everyone will be begging for the recipe. Bibb lettuce, tomatoes and a delicious dressing are all you need.
I love serving salads in Sancerre bowls – they’re the perfect size for this salad and they give it an elegant look. Hopefully you’ll have lots of leftover dressing to make it all week long!
Ingredients
1 cup good mayonnaise
1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3 heads Bibb lettuce
2 to 3 tomatoes
Directions
Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and process just until blended. (If not using immediately, refrigerate the dressing until ready to serve.)
Cut each head of lettuce into quarters, remove some of the cores, and arrange on six salad plates. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the plates.
Pour on the dressing and serve.
“This is one of my favorite desserts to make - and my clients absolutely love a good French Silk Chocolate pie. I find that substituing a regular crust for phyllo makes it easier to make and even more delicious.” - Chef Lynn Michelle
Dan Clare, Bob Poveromo and Steve Eberly, volunteers for Second Helpings, load up the truck with donations from Publix.
VelVonda Rutledge, receiver at Kroger, helps the guys load up on a Tuesday morning.
WArticle by Cheryl Ricer . Photography by M.Kat
Serving Up Second Helpings
RESCUING AND DISTRIBUTING FOOD TO NEIGHBORS IN NEED
hen you think about “second helpings,” it’s likely that images of eating a bit too much at holiday meals or Sunday brunches with the family come to mind. Here in the Lowcountry, the term has a much more selfless connotation. Second Helpings, a United Way organization, is a nonprofit food rescue organization whose goal is to eliminate hunger in our communities.
pounds of food – was reached five and a half years later.
Recently Second Helpings reached another major milestone – they rescued and distributed their 50 millionth pound of food. To put it into perspective, that number (impressive enough) translates into an even more impressive impact: that’s enough food for 40 million meals over 31 years.
Volunteers collect and distribute food which would otherwise end up in landfills. With more than 400 volunteers, the organization delivers 3.2 million pounds of food annually– free of charge – to more than 50 agencies in Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties.
While it might not seem so upon a casual glance, there are numerous people in our communities who lack sufficient food. In Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties alone, a startling 29,440 people lack consistent access to food to sustain a healthy life. This number includes the working poor, the homeless, the unemployed, the disabled, children, and the elderly. Admirably, the folks at Second Helpings took more than a casual glance.
In 1991, Guenther and Louise Hecht witnessed food being thrown out at area grocery stores on Hilton Head Island. They were disturbed by what they deemed wasteful, so they began to rescue that food and distribute it to trusted agencies, who would then distribute it to their deserving and needy clients. The first milestone – rescue and delivery of one million
“We are able to achieve this kind of impact as a result of a three-tiered system,” said Executive Director Marcus Tanner. “Like a tripod … if you take one of those away, the other two sides would fall.”
While Second Helpings has grown over the years, the foundations of that three-tiered system remain the same. These include:
Volunteers, more than 400 of them. These volunteers rescue and distribute food, work with agency partners, plan and represent their organization at community events, and perform many administrative functions.
Agency partners. Community organizations where Second Helpings provides every pound of food free of charge. These include more than 50 local food pantries, soup kitchens, and family programs.
Donors. Second Helpings is fueled by grants and private donations. The private donations include both money and food. The food comes in from local grocery stores, locals who purposefully buy extra and donate it, and also from tourists whose vacations are over, and
they have leftover food that they don’t need or don’t want to take home.
“Every single pound of food that we rescue is accounted for,” Tanner said. “We know not only where it’s going, but where it needs to go, and in the correct amounts. And because we are good stewards, for every dollar that we take in, we are able to put more than five meals back out into the community. We want the community to know that you don’t have to give big to make a big impact. When was the last time you went out to eat or grocery shopping and you were able to get five meals for a dollar?”
Aside from the agency partnerships, Second Helpings utilizes other great programs to distribute food to those in need.
“One of our programs is called Fill the Need, which is actually at the Palmetto Breeze bus depot,” Tanner said. “About eight years ago, the executive directors of Palmetto Breeze and Second Helpings recognized a need among the people who ride these buses for hours every day just to get to Hilton Head and Bluffton for their jobs. By the time these commuters get home, grocery stores are usually closed, or if there is even a grocery store in their area, many times they have no transportation to get there.”
So, the big hearts at Second Helpings began to brainstorm how they could give those hospitality, retail, landscaping, and maintenance workers who ride the Breeze buses some staples, like produce and proteins, so that when they get home after working all week, they have something to make it through the weekend. Second Helpings delivers groceries to the Palmetto Breeze bus depot three or four times a week, so that every Thursday, the bus riders can “shop” for their weekend grocery supply, not
Second Helpings volunteer Dan Clare hands off food donations to Clemson Polite at The Boys &
.
just for themselves, but for their families. Now celebrating its seventh year of operations, Fill the Need is one of the Second Helpings’ best-known programs.
Another program, the Healthy Food Initiative, began nearly a decade ago, when Second Helpings partnered with Dempsey Farms to provide fresh produce to supplement
Girls Club.
rescued food. Through fundraising, grants, and individual donations, Second Helpings now acquires healthy food from local farmers at Dempsey Farms and the Gullah Farms Cooperative on St. Helena Island, where produce is harvested, packaged, and delivered to the agencies. Waterfall Farm on Spring Island also donates part of its harvest.
They also partner with wholesalers and food donors. Between growing seasons, and whenever there is a need, Second Helpings purchases food from a wholesaler and delivers produce to partner agencies. Second Helpings volunteers spend part of their weekends at the Beaufort Farmers’ Market collecting donated fresh produce to deliver to agencies.
They also partner with local food donors to purchase food at discount prices.
The Second Helpings partner agencies place their Healthy Food Initiative orders based on how many people they serve and, along with the food donated from grocery stores and individuals, Second Helpings trucks deliver their orders, and the partner agencies distribute the food to their clients.
Tanner said the organization was recently awarded a grant from Colleton River Charity Fund for the Healthy Food Initiative. Another recent grant, from the Gimbel Foundation, will go to purchase proteins to provide to communities across the agency’s service area.
“Another popular and growing program is our PostVacation Food Donation,” Tanner said. “We have really bolstered this program with social media, and in just one year, this program has taken off.”
As we know, Hilton Head Island attracts 2.5 million tourists every year – many who stay in properties where
they cook many of their meals. Starting in 2023, Second Helpings now offers departing vacationers the opportunity to drop off their unopened, nonperishable leftover food items on their way off the island.
Each Saturday morning from Memorial Day through Labor Day, vacationers can pull into the Grayco Hardware and Home parking lot on Palmetto Bay Road from 7:30 to 10 a.m., hand their food to a grateful volunteer, obtain a receipt and more information about Second Helpings, and even take one last souvenir photo with the Second Helpings truck.
Another drop-off spot is in Coligny Plaza on the island’s south end, at FISH Casual Coastal Seafood. Food may be dropped off Fridays and Saturdays through Labor Day.
Second Helpings not only depends on food and monetary donations to help feed the needy in their service area, but they also need volunteers. In 2022, Second Helpings refrigerated trucks were driven 86,441 miles by volunteers to rescue and distribute food. These volunteers ran 1,451 routes during the year, operating six days a week, including most holidays.
“We’re always looking for additional volunteers to drive our trucks or be a helper on the truck,” Tanner said. “All you need is a driver’s license. If you can drive a U-Haul, then you can drive a Second Helpings truck. On average, we’ve got six routes running in all three locations – Hilton Head, Bluffton, and Beaufort – every day. This kind of dedication by our volunteers allows us to be able to rescue a whole lot of food and put it in the hands of those that need it.”
To volunteer, to donate or to learn more, visit SecondHelpingsLC.org, find them on Facebook, or call 843-689-3689.
Simple Southern Caramel Layer Cake
Article by Barry Kaufman . Photography by Whitney Evans . Artwork by Pam Johnson Brickell
L'étoile Verte à la Maison*
NEW COOKBOOK LETS YOU TREAT YOUR GUESTS TO CUISINE THAT MADE CHARLIE’S SHINE
Part of the charm of Charlie’s L’etoile Verte on Hilton Head Island has always been the feeling you get upon entering of being welcomed into someone’s home.
The Golson family’s story is written on these walls, sharing how Charlie Golson took over a modest French bistro named Bon Vivant and transformed it into the culmination of his years-long dream to bring French cooking to the Lowcountry.
In the casual and welcoming décor surrounding the restaurant, set around the cozy hearth and the dining room, we see his wife Nancy Golson’s famed eccentricity informing a comfortable French country atmosphere. And in the way these traditions have been carried into the future, we see how
their children, Palmer Golson and Margaret Pearman, are continuing their father’s legacy while making it their own.
The Golson family has been welcoming people into their dining room for decades with the cuisine that made their restaurant famous. Now, with their first-ever cookbook, they’re giving us the opportunity to do the same.
“We have a great chef, Josh Castillo, who’s been with us for seven years now, and it had been on his radar to do cooking classes,” Pearman said. “First we had to write down the recipes for home use, and that’s how this was born.”
Castillo came aboard when health problems forced Charlie Golson to take a step back from the restaurant in 2007. Just
The cookbook that resulted from that bolt of inspiration, titled La Cuisine de L’etoile Verte, lets home cooks try their hand at 12 of the dishes that have made the restaurant famous, grouped by season.
as Charlie had taken Bon Vivant’s cuisine and elevated it with respect to the originals, Castillo has brought the restaurant into the future while preserving that singular style that Charlie brought to his cuisine. And he did all of this without recipes.
“When dad stepped back, he’d never written down any of his recipes,” Pearman said. “During his era, people would stay with him so long there really wasn’t any need.”
With Castillo finally putting these legendary recipes down on paper, and further adapting them for home use as part of a cooking class, Pearman saw an opportunity to tell another chapter in her family’s story.
“A cookbook was something I’d had in the back of my mind, doing it on a slightly smaller scale,” Pearman said. A visit to Antonori Winery when she was living in Italy provided the perfect inspiration for how Charlie’s recipes could be adapted and set in print. “Part of the welcome package was a memento cookbook with a menu for each season.”
The cookbook that resulted from that bolt of inspiration, titled La Cuisine de L’etoile Verte, lets home cooks try their hand at 12 of the dishes that have made the restaurant famous, grouped by season. For spring, there’s the delicately balanced flavors of the Flounder Muniere. In summer, you can revisit the Curry Shrimp Salad, one of the earliest dishes that Charlie elevated from Bon Vivant. As oyster season comes around in the fall, you can prepare a Pan Roast Bluffton Oyster Stew. And what better way is there to fight winter’s chill than with the classic Coq au Vin?
“We tried to mix in enough of the old standbys along with special items like the chocolate souffle that we usually only do for New Year’s Eve or a special wine dinner,” Pearman said. “And we knew we had to include the caramel cake. We’ve accumulated all these recipes, so it was just a matter of figuring out what made sense for each season.”
Well, it wasn’t just a matter of placing each recipe in its season. There was also the arduous process of turning them all into a book.
“It took quite some time, and I had no idea how much editing it would take to get everything to be cohesive,” Pearman said.
Adding to that cohesion is the gorgeous artwork throughout – watercolors created by Pam Johnson Brickell that jump off the page. Known more for her lavishly detailed watercolors depicting the flora and fauna of the Lowcountry, Brickell gets to show off her flair for food journaling in the mouth-watering imagery she created for the cookbook.
“I love the way she captured the essence of each season,” Pearman said. “She’s the type of person who’s always drawing what she’s eating, and she has this wonderful
journal of dishes she’s had at different restaurants. We hit it off immediately.”
Brickell’s work not only fills the pages of the cookbook with color and beauty, but they can also be found on various items, including hand towels, now available for sale at the restaurant.
And while the cookbook does a marvelous job of capturing the culinary and artistic ethic of Charlie’s L’Etoile Verte, its greatest triumph lies in how it tells the story of the Golson family. If their restaurant welcomes you into their home, their cookbook welcomes you into their lives.
“I had so much fun sitting down with Dad as we were putting this together and getting the stories of why each one was on the menu,” Pearman said. “And he’s really enjoyed seeing the final product.”
La Cuisine de L’etoile Verte is available at Charlie’s L’etoile Verte, 8 New Orleans Road, or online at charliesgreenstar. com.
Flounder Sautéed Meuniere
Simple Southern Caramel Layer Cake
For the Cake:
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temp
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups whole milk
For the Icing:
2 sticks of butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups light brown sugar
½ cup of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Flounder Sautéed Meuniere
Adjusted from a recipe using veal, Charlie Golson was taught by Alsatian chef Duilio Bigatin at the Chattham Club in Savannah. The name translates to “miller’s wife,” as the fish is dredged in flour. Enjoy with a quality French Pouilly Fuisse.
4 filets of local flounder or other thin fish
2 cups flour
4 eggs
1⁄4 cup blended olive oil
1⁄2 stick of butter
1 cup white wine
4 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Any Southerner will tell you, it’s just like their grandmother made it. We started by purchasing three cakes a week from Mrs. Mary Mikell of Hampton, SC. When demand for the cake outpaced what she could provide us, we had to master the cake in house. We use the recipe from the Allendale Cookbook.
For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour four 9-inch cake rounds. Begin by sifting the flour, baking powder, and salt together. In a small mixing bowl blend the eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Next cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a stand-up mixer using the paddle attachment. Alternate combining the wet and dry ingredients in three additions; scrape the bowl between each addition. Divide the batter into the four pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown, and toothpick comes out clean.
For the Icing: Blend butter, brown sugar, and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally to avoid burning, bring the mix to a rolling boil, making sure that all the sugar granules have dissolved. Remove from heat, and place in a mixing bowl. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until the icing is the consistency to spread. If the icing gets too hard, you may add canned milk to thin. Next, assemble the cake by pouring a layer of caramel icing between each thin layer of cake, and then icing the entire cake. Place in refrigerator to set. We think that the caramel cake is best served with Hilton Head Ice Cream Company Caramel flavored ice cream, but a nice quality vanilla ice cream works just as well.
In a rectangular plastic container, lightly flour the filets by gently pressing them into the flour. Make sure that both sides of the flounder are covered, and then shake off any excess. In another container, whip the eggs slightly. Then, dip the floured filets in the egg. Warm the oil in a large sauté pan. When the oil has begun to pop, carefully place the filets of flounder in the pan. After both sides of the filets are golden brown, pour off any excess oil left in the pan. Return the pan to heat. Add the butter, lemon, and white wine. Let simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly in the bottom of the pan. Serve immediately with your favorite sides. We like potatoes au gratin and some fresh vegetables!
STYLED BY KAILA JEFFCOAT . PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
Transitional Fashion
Looks to get you from summer to fall
SEPTEMBER IN THE LOWCOUNTRY IS STILL WARM, BUT AUTUMN IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER SO YOU DON’T NECESSARILY WANT TO BE WEARING FLORAL SPRING COLORS. FOR THIS FLUID TIME OF THE YEAR, THINK LIGHTER FABRICS IN WARMER TONES AND LAYERED LOOKS FOR SLIGHTLY COOLER EVENINGS.
*Prices change and human error occurs. Please see boutique listed for final pricing on all itmes.
1. Clutch- $78, Denim- $138, Shoe- $128, Top-$118, Coat- $468; available at Birdie James; 2. Hat-$29, Pullover-$118, Button down-$145, Short-$108, Belt- $88; available at Southern Tide; 3. Sweater- $230.00, Gold Hoop earrings$138.00, Blue and gold bangles- $165.00 each; available at Kelly Caron Curated; 4. Earrings- $195, Bangle- $295; available at Collage
*Prices change and human error occurs. Please see boutique listed for final pricing on all items.
1. Dress- $325, Clutch- $102, Boot- variety of booties and boot options available; available at Coastal Bliss; 2. Button down shirt- $109, Pants- $109, Hat- $28, Belt- $35; available at Outside Hilton Head; 3. Roberto Coin Medallion charm with Mother of Pearl and diamond pendant necklace in 18K yellow gold - $6,930; available at Forsythe Jewelers; 4. Skirt-$283, Black tank-$88, Heel-$146; available at Collage; 5. Earrings- $34, Bag-$78, Shoe- $120, Pant- $90, Sweater- $88; available at Maggie and Me Bluffton
3.
*Prices change and human error occurs. Please see boutique listed for final pricing on all items.
5.
1. Bag- $248, Gold cuff- $42, Earrings- $24, Clog- $170, Mini Dress- $216, Sweater- $99, Sunglasses- $29; available at Gigi’s Boutique; 2. Top-$219, Pant-110, Clutch-$68, Shoe-$85, Earrings- $18, Necklace- $74; available at Outside Hilton Head; 3. 18K yellow gold pave diamond five row ring from the David Yurman Crossover Collection, D = 1.4337 ctw. $6,500; available at Forsythe Jewelers
*Prices change and human error occurs. Please see boutique listed for final pricing on all items.
*Prices change and human error occurs. Please see boutique listed for final pricing on all items.
1. Top-$108, Short-$68; available at Southern Tide; 2. Sterling silver and 18K yellow gold bracelet with six smooth gold stations from the LAGOS High Bar Collection. $1,650; available at Forsythe Jewelers; 3. Shoe- $68, Earrings- $70, Necklace- $66, Sweater top- $68, Shorts- $7, Crossbody- $188; available at The Haven; 4. Rose Petal Earrings$145.00, Olive Sunglasses- $85, Perfume- $165, Belts- $107 each; available at Kelly Caron Curated
*Prices change and human error occurs. Please see boutique listed for final pricing on all items.
1. Sterling silver and 18K yellow gold Caviar link bracelet from the LAGOS High Bar collection. $1,750; available at Forsythe Jewelers; 2. Blue top- $125, multi top- $115, rust top- $125; available at Palmettoes
Article by Patrick Flanary
THE KEY TO STEPPING UP YOUR EXERCISE AND HEART HEALTH? BABY STEPS.
The cooling fall temperatures offer an added incentive to get moving on walks, bike rides, or other types of exercise. In fact, these activities can mean a big difference down the road. It starts with getting outside, said interventional cardiologist Dr. Timothy Alikakos of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in Hilton Head.
“You don’t need to go out and run a marathon,” Alikakos said. “Getting outside and taking a walk for a half-hour a day has a ton of benefits. Exercising improves the efficiency of the heart to get the blood where it needs to go. But you have to constantly push it over the long term.”
That means starting slowly and introducing consistent exercise to your day as you build up to a goal, which could be hitting a certain distance or even a 5K event.
Not ready for an organized walk/run? Alikakos explains how we can all get a few steps closer and why that’s a smart move for many of us. Every year, more than 800,000 Americans have a heart attack, many of them preventable with basic lifestyle changes.
When it comes to exercise and heart health, what are some of those small changes that can make a big difference over time?
“This question comes up all the time in our practice,” Alikakos said. “And I tell my patients, whether they’re young and active or quite elderly, that structure always helps, no matter their age. When you have something you’re prepping for, you have structure.”
Alikakos said we should all commit to at least half an hour a day, three days a week, which can help you burn calories and manage your weight. Plus, the adrenaline surge gets you feeling better and improves your outlook
and your fitness. Best of all, it gets us outside and forces us to push ourselves.
When it comes to your overall cardiovascular fitness over the long term, even a little bit counts, Alikakos said.
“Just do it. Push yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you’re going to do, as long as you get outside and do it,” he said. “The patients who are often most surprised with their results are those in our cardiac rehab programs. They realize they don’t need to do that much to give themselves that bump and reap that benefit.”
Why does something as simple as walking make a difference? Wouldn’t eating a balanced diet be enough?
“They go hand in hand. If you eat a lot of calories, carbs, and processed foods, it’s going to take away from the benefit of exercising regularly,” Alikakos said. “But if you do both, the exercise will add that extra calorie expenditure, and force your body to build extra blood flow.
“It’s all about the sweet spot: What do I need to do to expend some calories and increase my cardiovascular fitness? The heart rate does not have to be up there tremendously; we shoot for about 60% of a patient’s maximum heart rate, based on their age. For cardiac rehab patients, this means we want to get them quickly and efficiently to their baseline, and then start to improve their fitness. So, we’re not shooting for going as hardcore as possible; we’re shooting for getting the heart rate up a little bit.”
Alikakos suggests checking your baseline heart rate while watching TV. The goal is to get it up for 20 beats per minute above that baseline.
“Something as simple as walking at a good pace for 30 minutes a day is going to improve things,” he said. “And
Dr. Timothy Alikakos of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in Hilton Head
when you’re maintaining that and feeling great, you ramp up your progress a bit. Slow is the key, and that leads to more robust effects.”
And what’s the best way to build up? Is it ever a good idea to dive right into training or a new activity if you’ve been generally sedentary?
Alikakos suggests starting slowly.
“Do not bite off more than you can chew,” he said. “If you’re dieting, pick one food that you know is bad for you and try to reduce or eliminate only that. Don’t go for everything all at once. Going slowly is much more robust. That lets your body build and do the things it needs to do to withstand changes and growth over the long term. It’s all about baby steps. I tell my patients to set achievable goals over several weeks at a time. You’ll feel a lot better, and it will last.”
In episode one, Jeff Bradley and JA Moore embark on a culinary adventure around the city of Charleston.
ARTICLE BY EDWARD THOMAS
Opposing Legislators’ Food Adventure Knows No Political Boundaries
Jeff Bradley, who represents Hilton Head Island in the state legislature, loves preparing and enjoying delicious meals and desserts.
Bradley’s passion for preparing food began as a youth in Alabama, when he learned that cooking and sharing meals was often an ideal time for bonding with old and new friends.
Now, five decades later, Bradley has become a key participant in an engaging new South Carolina ETV pilot show, Food for Thought, which
will premiere in 2025 and portray how unlikely friendships can be forged across political party lines.
The show’s director, Keith Bogart, said, “Food for Thought is more than just a TV food show. It’s a profound heartwarming ‘buddy show’ focused around the love of cooking by these two South Carolina legislators who come from very different backgrounds.”
The unlikely friendship is between Bradley, a seasoned, life-long Republican who has served
in the state house for four terms, and JA Moore, a youthful Democrat and professional chef who represents North Charleston and parts of Goose Creek in Berkeley County. They serve together on the House Committee for Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Cyber Crimes, of which Bradley is chairman.
According to SCETV, the new show’s format will follow the duo as they visit locations across the state exploring unique and interesting food
Opposing Legislators’ Food Adventure Knows No Political Boundaries
Bradley’s passion for preparing food began as a youth in Alabama, when he learned that cooking and sharing meals was often an ideal time for bonding with old and new friends.
growers, sellers, and food festivals. With a light-hearted “buddy show” vibe, the two use their platform to engage in political dialogue, cook delicious meals, and invite guests to join in on spirited debates – all while enjoying the rich flavors of South Carolina cuisine.
In episode one, Bradley and Moore embark on a culinary adventure around the city of Charleston, searching for intriguing ingredients to prepare for a dinner party for their friends. As they move from one locale to another selecting ingredients from popular establishments, they exchange ideas about the evening’s menu. Then, once the shopping is complete, they return to the kitchen to prepare an elaborate meal. Moore, who has a culinary arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, led the way in the kitchen. Bradley remembers most the remarkable fragrance of the kitchen as Moore prepared the main dish he called “Ollie Blend,” named after a favorite aunt. “I realized it was a tangible connection to JA’s family history,” said Bradley, noting that the “amazing meal” also included greens, kale, fish, lobster, shrimp, red rice, and peach cobbler.
The dinner party serves as the perfect setting for Bradley and Moore to introduce a political topic and engage their guests in a lively discussion. A surprise visit from a political friend adds an unexpected twist to the first episode’s evening and we learn more about a tragic event that profoundly shaped Moore’s life leading to the dinner’s central topic – gun control.
The show beautifully illustrates that a genuine bond has begun to form as the two men blend the ingredients and exchange memories over simmering pots. It also demonstrates good food is not just about sustenance but can also break down barriers and forge unlikely but enduring friendships.
Article by Barry Kaufman .
A PAR-FECT PARTNERSHIP
HILTON HEAD ISLAND JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION + FIRST TEE – THE LOWCOUNTRY
When the Hilton Head Island Junior Golf Association found itself without operational leadership earlier this year, it could have marked the end of an era for youth golf. The local chapter of the South Carolina Junior Golf Association (SCJGA) and the Hootie and the Blowfish Junior Golf Tour had been running youth golf tournaments for decades, establishing itself as a launchpad for talented young golfers.
Were it not for one brilliant move, it could have all been over. Instead, they turned to an organization whose mission to develop young talent dovetails with their own to showcase that talent. First Tee – The Lowcountry is renowned in our area for its youth development programs that pair instruction in the game with direction for young peoples’ character. Having them take over operations of HHIJGA was, in hindsight, a no-brainer.
“Golf tournaments for kids, that’s right up our alley,” said Pat Zuk, First Tee executive director. “Plus, this provides a great opportunity for our participants to be able to do things outside of the program.”
Already this partnership has proven to be beneficial to both. The First Tee has been able to leverage its expertise in keeping this extraordinary golf organization moving forward, while the HHIJGA’s robust schedule of summer events has provided First Tee students with a way to get into the swing of competition. That is, when the weather has cooperated.
“It’s been a bit of a weather challenge. Our first event was rainshortened out after nine holes, our third event was heat-shortened after nine holes, and our ninth event was right during Tropical Storm Debby,” Zuk said. “But it has been really fun. This has allowed our kids to play on a variety of golf courses from Old South to Country Club of Hilton Head. And we had one event that was amazing – a par three shootout on Colleton River’s par three course.”
While the majority of participants in these events have come from the general public, the First Tee has made a concerted effort to get its own kids involved.
“Right now, it’s probably about 15% First Tee kids, but it’s just year one,” Zuk said. “That number will only grow among our participants, while growing the tournament series as more of our kids participate.”
The impact of this partnership has been felt far beyond the local level. Two of the First Tee’s participants, Daniel Morrell and his brother Paul, were able to win their respective age groups at the statewide Tommy Cuthbert All-Star Tournament, a competition that brings together the top junior golfers from across South Carolina.
“There’s a lot of competitive golf being played out there, and this is a great way for the kids of this area, and the First Tee as well, to get their feet wet in a pretty competitive situation with something on the line – qualifying for a larger statewide tournament,” Zuk said. “So, it’s good experience for the kids who are already playing golf competitively, and also for those who want to see what it’s like.”
Photography by M.Kat
ARTICLE BY BARRY KAUFMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
M.KAT
GO BIG OR GO HOME
BLUFFTON SCHOOL OF DANCE CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
For 25 years, Bluffton School of Dance has served the Lowcountry’s young dancers, creating a community around them of support and encouragement.
And it almost didn’t happen.
As hard as it may be to believe, in some alternate universe, Dawn Rosa Miller never came to Bluffton, never took over Bluffton School of Dance, never guided it to becoming the revered institution it is today. In that alternate universe, rather than teaching young dancers the art of movement, she would have joined the CIA, using her forensic psychology degree in the covert world of espionage.
Kimberly Reigert, Dawn Rosa Miller, Katie McIntire, Olivia Roberts
Tumbling coach Leo Henderson
“That was supposed to be my path. I had my contacts, my life was planned in terms of what grad school I needed to go to… but I just didn’t want to stop dancing,” she said. “Everybody thought it was a phase.”
Anyone who has ever felt the stirrings of the terpsichorean muse knows that dancing is never just a phase. It’s not something you do. It’s something you are. And while Miller might have become a great spy, she couldn’t be a spy. Because she was, and always will be, a dancer.
And so in 2002, her muse brought her to Bluffton, where Ashley Bozard had founded the original Bluffton School of Dance just three years earlier. Operating in a tiny room above the Bluffton Rec Center, the original incarnation of the school bore little resemblance to what it would eventually become. But, in the community already formed around this nascent school, Miller saw opportunity.
“The emphasis was really on ballet, with a little jazz and tap. I came in asking, ‘Have you heard of competition?’ So we just dove in to really train in
Students take a ballet lesson at Bluffton School of Dance in late July.
those styles to put the focus on versatility,” Miller said. “And because I ‘go big or go home’ all the time, I decided to take six families to Vegas, of all places, for nationals that first summer. And it blew their minds.”
In the spirit of going big or going home, Miller began expanding the school to an entirely new level.
“We just started growing from the bottom,” she said. “We just had to start teaching them this new world of dance where you had jazz and tap and musical theatre and all these other things, in addition to ballet, to grow as a versatile dancer.”
And while Miller shifted the focus to point students toward dancing on the national stage, she didn’t pursue that dream with the kind of fanaticism you see on reality TV dance mom shows.
“We teach humans. Of course, we teach dance, but our focus and everything we’re teaching is to help them be good human beings, because 98% of the kids we teach won’t wind up in the arts industry as adults,” she said. “We’re a part of that kid’s childhood, and so we say that we’re partnering with the parents to help them raise good humans.”
That approach – never sacrificing a kid’s enjoyment of dance on the altar of improvement – has built in its students a tight-knit community that lasts long after their final class. If they don’t end up dancing professionally, they’ll always carry the lessons they learned and the memories of the fun they had. And if they do wind up dancing professionally, they’ll enter that world with an undeniable head start.
“I started in the recreation program at just 2 years old and later joined the competitive team at 8. It was from that moment that I knew I wanted to make dance a career and would never have been able to do it without the support of Ms. Dawn,” said Sammee Schirmer, a graduate of Bluffton School of Dance. “Not only has she contributed to my growth inside the walls of the studio but she has been a mentor in most aspects in my life ever since she has been it. In a lot of ways, it feels like we have grown together and it has been the most rewarding experience to continue to watch the studio thrive in the community I call home.”
The Big Jump
2024 grad Aiden Miller leaps, Summer Instructor Tatum Sandlin looks on.
And that community has been key to Bluffton School of Dance’s longevity. Partnerships with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Main Stage Community Theatre, and the Sun City Sundancers have not only given BSOD students a pathway to dancing professionally, they have also helped elevate dance as an art form across the Lowcountry.
In Sun City, for example, BSOD not only lends out its studio space to dancers from the 55-plus community, they also bring their instructors behind the gates to lead classes.
“It’s a wonderful relationship and it’s gone on for as long as I’ve been here,” said Kathy Philips, a member of the Sundancers. “They come to our show in April and they dance with us here and we give scholarships to Dawn’s students. … It provides us with top-notch, high-quality, experienced teachers that we wouldn’t normally have within our Sun City community, and it gives us an opportunity to encourage young dancers to further their dance education.”
Building community has been one of the school’s cornerstones since the beginning.
“It’s wild to me to hear the level of respect we have built in the community in 25 years, and I think that is something that we as a team protect very tightly,” Miller said. “We’ve gotten to that loop where the kids who were four years old when we started, are now in their 20s and teaching on conventions.”
Some alumni are also coming back to the school with their own kids. Elizabeth Provo began training under Miller in high school, quickly taking her on as a role model who challenged her, taught her perseverance, and encouraged her to find her confidence. When her three children began showing their own aptitude for dance, there was no question where she would send them.
“We quickly fell back in love with BSOD,” Provo said. “All three of my children now attend her studio. My two older daughters are in the performance/competitive program and my youngest is in the preschool program. Dawn has created a studio that has become their safe haven. They are challenged, nurtured, encouraged, and loved every time they walk through the doors.”
That kind of multi-generational loyalty can be rare in a dance studio. But then, Bluffton School of Dance isn’t just a dance studio. It’s a community.
“Do we have amazing teachers? Yes. Do they have amazing backgrounds? Absolutely,” Miller said. “But I don’t hire people who just create dancers who want trophies. Because life is collaboration, life is community.”
Article by Sheila Tucker
Photography by M.Kat
What to Talk About in Therapy –According to a Therapist
Iwalked slowly into the room. It was cozy and somewhat dark, giving off a gentlemen’s den in a lodge vibe. There was a cognac-colored sofa to the right with a large coffee table and a well-worn club chair. Against one wall was a sofa table with an impressive number of books stacked high in no particular order or arrangement. At the far end of the room was a wall of windows with a desk looking out at the street.
As the door shut behind me, I made my way to the sofa, tentative about what I’d signed up for. Would he notice me turning around mid-stride and walking back to the lobby?
At 18, I’d just walked into my very first therapy session. The research assistant role I secured at the University of Georgia required me to attend weekly therapy sessions.
My therapist was a tall man with thick, curly blonde hair down to his shoulders. He wore black-
rimmed glasses, tan corduroy pants, a concert tee, and Vans sneakers. He was the epitome of relaxation.
He sat and gazed intently at me, not saying a word. He soon realized that silence was my friend. I could sit there all day, in silence, unbothered, taking in the room – the sights, the smells, the way the sofa was sticking to the back of my legs, and noticing how my body temperature rises when I’m nervous.
After a few moments, he casually looked down at his clipboard and rattled off an endless supply of questions. Why was I there? What did I hope to get out of therapy?
With each question, I became more nervous and tongue-tied. It felt like I was taking a pop quiz for a class I’d never attended. Even though I didn’t have solid answers to those questions, I was happy he was doing most of the talking. I had no idea what to say or how to start.
It’s way more common than you might think for someone to come to therapy and not know what they will talk about – even if they know why they’re going to therapy. This phenomenon can happen if it’s your first time in therapy or your 100th. It still happens to me.
Opening up to someone, especially someone you don’t know, and sharing your secrets and concerns is no small feat. Truth be told, it’s strange and odd, but it’s also freeing.
Generally speaking, first therapy appointments are structured differently depending on your therapist. Your therapist might ask you a list of questions or have you complete assessments to better understand you and the concern that brings you to therapy.
Your therapist might lead with a few questions, but otherwise, you do most of the talking. Then, other therapists will wait for you to talk first.
Unsure of what to talk about in therapy? Here are a few suggestions from me, a therapist.
• Your goals. What do you hope to accomplish during your time in therapy? How do you want to feel or experience life? Goals provide the destination you and your therapist will work towards during each session.
Sheila Tucker is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Heart Mind & Soul Counseling.
• Your current challenges and stressors, or where you feel stuck. What have you tried to change or improve on your own but isn’t working? What’s getting in your way? Also, what are you doing that works?
• Your patterns. Are you noticing that specific experiences or interactions keep occurring in your life? Talk about those.
• Your relationships, personal history, and background. The ones that frustrate you. The ones that build you up. The ones you miss. The ones you want to set boundaries with. And especially the relationship with yourself. Your relationships help your therapist learn more about what makes you who you are. Meanwhile, your past experiences, including childhood and previous relationships, can influence your current behavior and feelings.
• Your thoughts. What do you think about? Do you overthink or think a lot? Learning about your thoughts can help you to decipher the stories you tell yourself about your experiences. Then, you can explore which are helpful and which aren’t.
• Your feelings. Have you been feeling anxious? Frustrated? Sad? Jealous? Resentful? Unusually happy? There are no wrong answers. Each of your feelings has a story to tell. Your therapist wants to know about all of it.
• Your coping strategies. Talk about any coping strategies you’ve tried and how effective they have been or haven’t been. Your therapist can help you develop new techniques or refine existing ones to manage your emotions and challenges better.
Therapy is a partnership between you and your therapist. Actively contributing to the process, in and out of the therapy room, is key to making meaningful progress.
• Your achievements. Your therapist wants to celebrate your successes, no matter how small, and acknowledge the steps you’ve taken toward your goals.
Now that you know where to start, how do you make the most of your therapy time? I have a few ideas.
• Practice your new skills: Therapy isn’t just about talking; it’s also about action. Work with your therapist to practice and implement new skills and strategies in your daily life –not just in the therapy room.
• Question and reflect: Don’t be afraid to question your thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors. Self-reflection is crucial to therapy and can lead to deeper insights and changes. Also, don’t be afraid to question your therapist. Your therapist might make inferences. When they are wrong, let the therapist know. My clients often hear me say, “I’m making up the story that ...” followed by, “Please tell me if that resonates or not.”
• Practice self-care: Therapy can be emotionally taxing. Between sessions, practice self-care to maintain your wellbeing and stay engaged in the therapeutic process. Self-care isn’t one-size-fits-all. It can look like taking a lunch break instead of eating at your desk, saying no to the things you don’t want to do, or drinking more water throughout your day.
Therapy is a partnership between you and your therapist. Actively contributing to the process, in and out of the therapy room, is key to making meaningful progress.
After my first session, I felt like a novice in this unfamiliar world. However, the session slowly became less about finding the right words and more about simply being present.
As I looked around the room, taking in the eclectic mix of books and the soft light filtering through the windows, I realized that this experience was not about having all the answers but exploring the questions that mattered most. I wish the same for you.
Blake Schmid, owner of Coastal Bliss with Boutique Buyer/ Manager, Emily Bonvissuto.
ARTICLE BY CHERYL RICER . PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
Girl, Get Dressed!
En vogue trends + personal taste + confident attitude = winning style
While women’s boutiques abound in the Lowcountry, few offer a stylish, carefully curated collection of fashions in a beautifully organized and spacious aesthetic. One that does, however, is Coastal Bliss in Shelter Cove Towne Centre.
This boutique covers all the bases, including trends (and classics) in all sizes and for any stage of a woman’s life (from girl to grandmother). Plus, you can actually see the merchandise – it’s not all shoved into a few messy racks. Not only that, but there is also room to browse through every piece without bumping into someone, and you can get valuable advice and feedback along the way.
Coastal Bliss, locally owned and operated since 2013, has been one of my favorite places to shop since I moved here in 2020. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever walked into the store without walking out with at least one new piece for my closet. If you’ve been inside the store, you understand. If you haven’t been yet, then after reading this, you’ll want to go see for yourself just why.
Let me explain what I think is the secret to the Coastal Bliss appeal.
First of all, owner/buyer Blake Schmid and boutique manager/ buyer Emily Bonvissuto understand how to buy and merchandise their fashions for their customers. Their selections are always on trend and contemporary, and they are always presented at the perfect time you need them, which means there will always be something there for today’s events and something there for anything in your future.
If it’s summer and you want a cute, cool frock, you can find it; if you are shopping for fall fashion, you’ll find something fabulous to wear in
a month or two. They also always have a great sale rack where you can find something from any season.
Next, Schmid and Bonvissuto understand who their customers are and choose their inventory with every one of our personal tastes in mind. I don’t think I’ve ever shopped at Coastal Bliss when there hasn’t been a wide range of ages and body types shopping and waiting to check out with something absolutely perfect for them.
Whether you are 21 and looking for a fun, midriff-baring, tight-fitting mini and some short cut-offs, or you’re a mom who needs a little pick-me-up pair of great fitting jeans and a top for a parent meeting, or you’re a woman of a certain age who may be dressing for your grown child’s wedding or an upcoming vacation, you’ll find all of that and more at Coastal Bliss.
Even better, once you’ve shopped with Schmid and Bonvissuto a time or two, you won’t even have to leave your dressing room; they will know your preferences and can keep presenting you with suitable options until you find just the perfect thing.
Finally, when you leave the store with your new clothes and accessories, you’ll leave with confidence, knowing that not only do you feel great, but you look great.
Schmid and Bonvissuto give the best feedback regarding fit and styling. You won’t have to wonder if something is flattering on your figure or if the color or fabric isn’t right, or if you’ve paired it with the wrong bag or shoes, because they will tell you. They make sure that you’re comfortable with what you’re wearing, and if something is
Emily helps Kara pick out earrings to match the outfit.
Wyatt selected the black and white skort and body suit because she loved the femininity of the skirt combined with the practicality of the shorts.
Cheryl models a sweater set in a beautiful neutral oatmeal shade by Apricot, a brand out of the UK.
not the right outfit for you, then they have something else that will be perfect.
The day the CH2 crew and I were there to shoot photos for this article was a perfect scenario of what I just described. There were already two models present for the shoot – Kara Tranter, a 20-something, and Whitney Wyatt, a 30-something. When I began to chat with Schmid about the angle I had in mind for the article, she loved it and asked me if I would step in and be that “lady of a certain age.” (If you know you know, and if you don’t know, I’ll keep you guessing!)
Tranter is a working professional in the hospitality industry, so she always needs a work-appropriate wardrobe – plus, lots of her friends are getting married, so she’s got showers and bachelorette trips in the near future. Tranter loves Coastal Bliss because she knows that she can walk into the store no matter the occasion and find a timeless style that fits her body perfectly. She will be able to wear an outfit again and again and enjoy seeing herself in pictures looking great and happy.
Tranter tried on the Royce evening dress by Hutch, a New York-based brand that Coastal Bliss has carried for several years. Women love their effortless feminine designs and bold, flattering, and versatile pieces. Tranter also tried on some “wear now and later” dresses that will transition from her office at the Marriott to any after-work events.
She chose the evening dress because she’s attending a wedding this month and, importantly, the dress can be worn afterwards to any nice dinner parties or upscale restaurants.
Whitney Wyatt checks out with Emily, excited to wear her new looks around town.
Kara Tranter decides on a blue-toned floral dress with a Dolce Vita platform heel for a wedding she’ll be attendig later this month.
Blake Schmid helps Cheryl style a floral green dress she’s purchasing for a trip to Italy.
Because of the floral design and spaghetti strap styling, she can bring it back out this spring.
She also chose a Dolce Vita platform heel, a beautiful shoe that she will be able to wear with other pieces of her wardrobe as well.
Wyatt is a working mom with three kids ages 18, nine, and six, who looks forward to date nights and wants to look great doing mom stuff. Wyatt has been a Coastal Bliss shopper since the first day the store opened. She knows she can run in for a date night outfit, grab something that makes her feel confident, and get all the compliments while she’s wearing it.
Wyatt tried on a skort from Love the Label, a body suit from Show Me Your Mumu, and a knit pullover dress also from Show Me Your Mumu – a womenowned, women-run brand from Los Angeles. It’s been one of the signature lines that Coastal Bliss has carried since they opened. Buyers love everything from the fit to the fabric to the versatility. The bold prints and timeless styles and shapes appeal to all women of every age and size.
Wyatt selected the black and white skort and body suit because she loved the femininity of the skirt combined with the practicality of the shorts, which allows her to run around with her kids looking like she’s dressed to the nines. She also loved
that she can seamlessly move from day to date night simply by changing shoes and accessories. When she’s out with kids, she can wear it with a little black bootie and a carry-all tote bag in just about any color. For date night, all she has to do is freshen her lipstick, change into a black strappy heel, and grab a designer mini bag and step out with her man.
I’m a married, 55-plus freelance writer and yoga teacher who gets to set my own schedule. I enjoy country club lunches with my girls and dinners with my husband and other couples at the island’s best restaurants once or twice a week. I also enjoy meeting up with girlfriends for an occasional happy hour.
Because I have plenty of “right now” clothes, I wanted to shop for something that I could wear when the weather starts cooling off a bit (crossing fingers sooner than later).
I modeled two looks, too. The first was the Anja shirt dress by Hutch in cotton poplin, a fabric that always offers a great fit. The elastic waist really pulled it together for me. Whereas most shirt dresses are shapeless, this comfy little cinch at the waist made the Anja so cute and feminine. The colors, too, offer multi-season wear time. As the weather cools, I can just throw a little vest or cardigan over it and keep moving.
I also modeled a sweater set in a beautiful neutral oatmeal shade by Apricot, a brand out of the UK. They make beautiful, wearable timeless collections that deliver effortless design and fantastic quality – all important details to the Coastal Bliss customer.
These are just three examples of why women love shopping at Coastal Bliss, where the best-dressed ladies on Hilton Head do their shopping. Whether you’re a local or a visitor, when you need that perfect outfit for any occasion, you’ll leave the store with a bag or two filled with confidenceboosting, stylish, contemporary fashions and accessories, and a heart filled with bliss!
Coastal Bliss: Cheers to keeping the women of Hilton Head Island stylish and fabulous since 2013! Visit the store at 38 Shelter Cove Lane, Suite 126.
COURTNEY’S OPINION:
Politics and business, don’t always mix well. Also, Barry likes stickers a lot.
The first draft of my July “man or bear” column was not the version that was sent to print. Not long after sending it to our editor, I felt a nagging need to do some tweaking. I was afraid I had gone a little too far in describing “the man” in my particular situation and I wasn’t comfortable with the over-share. So, I edited myself. I like to think this is part of my older and wiser evolution. Ten years ago, I would have blasted that guy.
So, when Barry’s favorite sticker vendor (yes, I too was surprised by Barry’s penchant for stickers, but you do you, Barry) sent him a pro-Trump email, we got to thinking. Is it a business’ place to let us know how they vote? Or is that an over-share?
I don’t get as riled up about politics as I used to (older, wiser). But the issues that do fire me up are highly personal – and thus emotional – to me. And when I think about things in that context, I realize that there is usually something behind the reason we feel a certain way. Yes,
A LINE IN THE SAND
Both times I lay in an emergency room, decades ago, waiting for life-saving surgery due to ectopic pregnancies, I never once considered the politics of my current situation. It never occurred to me that one day this surgery might not be deemed necessary or legal.
even for those folks whose choices (political or other) we cannot fathom.
Both times I lay in an emergency room, decades ago, waiting for life-saving surgery due to ectopic pregnancies, I never once considered the politics of my current situation. It never occurred to me that one day this surgery might not be deemed necessary or legal. Likewise, I suspect that the surgeons and nurses who were scrubbing in could not have predicted a change to legislation that had been on the books since the year I was born. So, when I am considering which political candidates to support, women’s reproductive rights matter to me.
In addition to my life-saving surgeries, I also endured three rounds of IVF. They were unsuccessful and I am a happy childless dog mom (and former cat lady), but the fact that
IVF was a choice was a comfort during a tumultuous time.
So, let’s presume that Sticker Mule has a connection to the Trump campaign based on some deep-rooted, adhesiverelated experience that is highly emotional for them. If that is the case, we aren’t going to change their mind. Just like they won’t change mine. I will certainly get the stickers I was going to get Barry for Christmas from another vendor, but I’m sure Sticker Mule will be just fine. A business that touts its politics has to be OK with potentially losing half its customers.
But, what if it is a friend who owns a business? How do we navigate the current political climate when our friends are on their other side of the fence (that feels like it is a million miles away)?
Candidly, I have been unfriending and unfollowing “friends” on social media for months. Namely, the yo-yos on my high school football team, who apparently took one too many knocks to the noggin in the early 1990s.
The older, wiser, and emotionally evolved me has also realized that if my connection to my real friends outweighs my questions around their politics, I choose friendship. My circle is small and sacred, and that is good enough for me.
And with that, I must acknowledge my friend Mia. I’ve known her for 15 years and she has been a witness to the many ups and downs of my journey. Our politics are vastly different – she is a major Trumper and proud of it. She’s been to rallies and even has the red cap.
Four years ago, I couldn’t wrap my head around how we could be so different and yet so alike. But when I’ve needed her – like when my father-in-law died – she has jumped into action. I’ve evolved to being able to joke about our contrasts, and I am grateful that she hung in with me until I got there.
Some relationships are worth it. Stickers are not.
Hey Barry!
Check out our new Hot Sauce labels, and also wait til you hear what we did to our previous CEO!
BARRY’S OPINION:
Keep your polictics away from my stickers, Sticker Mule!
Like most of you, my email inbox is essentially a repository for millions of emails from companies I bought something from once, sprinkled with the occasional actual email. This is because the online marketing industrial complex has convinced companies that we as consumers don’t just want a product – we also want to hear from the company we bought that product from every day from now until the heat death of the universe.
Did you enjoy that shirt you bought? Here are eight more just like it.
How’s that showerhead working out for you? Did you know we also sell bidets?
Pretty sweet knife we sold you, right? Have you thought about getting some ED medication?
Over and over we go.
So, I was a little surprised recently when Sticker Mule, a company from which I buy custom stickers and an occasional T-shirt with my face on it, decided to go in a different direction, emailing me about whom I should vote for. As a sucker for their regular sales, I tend to open their emails anyway, but I opened this one while asking myself why.
Carrying the subject header “Trump 2024,” this email read, and I quote: “People are terrified to admit they support Trump. I’ve been scared myself. Americans shouldn’t live in fear. I support Trump. Many at Sticker Mule do. Many at Sticker Mule also support Biden. The political hate needs to stop. Hopefully this email helps. Btw, this week, get 1 shirt for $4 (normally $19). I suggest buying one that shows you support Trump.”
Let’s set aside for a moment the fact that Trump supporters are hardly afraid to get vocal about their support for their candidate. This was a weird thing to hear about from Sticker Mule since – and I can’t stress this enough – they are a sticker company. Full stop.
In all my years buying stickers from them, I never once considered what their position might be on politics. I would have assumed they were pro-sticker, but then that’s really all I care about. You’re a sticker company. I give you money. You give me stickers. That’s as deep as I’d like our understanding of one another to go.
The backlash online and in person was as immediate as it was expected. Two people I know who also shop from Sticker Mule, one of whom spends thousands on their products, were both looking for new vendors that day. The company’s Facebook page became a battleground as folks from both sides came to duke it out in the comments. Competing companies jumped at the opportunity, with ads that showed how much they absolutely don’t care who you vote for, only that you have disposable income for stickers.
The backlash was predictable. The fallout was baffling. Today I got an email from them saying, and again I quote, “It’s my genius idea to make Sticker Mule explode ever since the last CEO f’d things up. Btw, now that I’m in charge, I ordered the last CEO to be left wrapped in bubble wrap in an abandoned warehouse.”
This email, it should be noted, was primarily about their new custom-label hot sauces, with the earth-shattering news about their change in CEO kind of stuck in the middle.
It was signed by Ricky Berwick, a guy that the terminally online will know as a YouTuber, and not as a person who would know anything about running a business. As a result, no one is sure if this was a joke or not. Either way, the comments under their video announcement ran pretty much 50/50. Half said, “If you fired your CEO for supporting Trump I’m not shopping here anymore.” The other half said, “Seriously, what?”
The point being, this was all an unforced error. By making their views known, they made half their customers angry. By walking those views back, they angered the rest of them. By walking those views back via a YouTuber selling hot sauce, they confused everyone.
So, my advice to any company, big or small, is the same advice I give to pretty much everyone on Facebook – no one cares who you’re voting for. Please shut up. But if you are offering cheap stickers, let me know.
ARTICLE BY LYNNE COPE HUMMELL . PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
Jekyll & Hyde
Ages-old story reflects current personal and societal conflicts
Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 tale of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been read and retold for nearly 140 years. The saga of the kind and respectable Dr. Henry Jekyll and his duality with the murderously evil Edward Hyde was adapted in 1990 as a musical that found its way to Broadway in 1997.
And this month, that version of the story has found its way to Hilton Head Island, where Main Stage Community Theatre will bring the dynamic characters to life with Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical at the Seahawk Cultural Center Sept. 12-22.
The multiple messages brought by characters in the story offer insights into similar struggles faced by today’s world of humanity.
“Some see the story of Jekyll and Hyde as a cautionary tale,” said Bryce Cofield, director of the MSCT offering.
“I think that’s what makes it so relatable,” said Daniel Cort, who appears in the show as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. “If we’re honest with ourselves, we all have a light and dark side – and of course, what mind-altering substances typically do is they bring the dark, the shadow side, to the surface. Hyde is not a monster; he’s just a darker version of the same man.”
Cofield, who was born and raised on Hilton Head Island and now lives in Jacksonville, Florida, is directing for the second time with MSCT. At Hilton Head Island High School, Cofield was a standout performer in both the Seahawk Theatre Guild and the Out of the Blue Show Choir. He also appeared in a number of productions with Main Street Youth Theatre, the precursor to Main Stage.
Daniel Cort as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Cofield is familiar with Jekyll & Hyde , having served as assistant production manager for Alhambra Theatre in its production of the musical.
Cofield’s directing debut was in 2015, for MSCT’s The Addam’s Family, which featured Cort and his wife, Debbie Cort. “To be able to reprise Jekyll and Lucy together on stage, with Bryce again at the helm, is like a super fun reunion,” Daniel Cort said.
“Bryce is wildly creative and a phenomenal director,” said Cinda Seamon, president of the board of directors for MSCT. “We are excited to have him back with us.”
The cast of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde listed left to right: Tommy Ballard, Kourtnie Dwornikoski, Daniel Cort, Debbie Cort, and Kyle Price.
Actors returning to the MSCT stage include Kourtnie Dwornikoski (Emma), who played Maria in Sound of Music; Paddy Myers (Bishop of Basingstoke), who also was in Sound of Music; Scott Milne (Poole), who appeared in Our Town and Oliver; and John Chao (Sir Archibald Proops), who played Capt. Georg von Trapp in Sound of Music, Matthew Bell (Simon Stride and Spider) who appeared in Oliver, and Noah Housey (Bisset) who has appeared in numerous MSCT productions.
The large cast of 25 includes MCST newcomers Tommy Ballard, who plays Sir Danvers Carew, Seth Harvey, who plays General Glossop, and Monica Franklin, who plays Lady Beaconsfield.
In addition to the cast, a 10-piece orchestra of musicians, recruited by music director Josh Wall, will be on the stage as well, along with several dancers from Bluffton School of Dance, choreographed by director Dawn Rosa Miller. Melinda Bray is assistant music director.
While the general presumption of the theme of the story is good vs. evil, there are also themes of mental illness and addiction. An early scene depicts Jekyll in an insane asylum, worrying that an underlying evil has caused his father to become ill, so Jekyll begins his quest to find a cure.
Through his experiments, Jekyll produces a formula that he believes will separate the good from evil. Meeting
resistance from the aristocracy, Jekyll makes the fateful decision to use himself as the subject of his experiment; thus beginning his descent into darkness.
For one of the actors, the story is personal.
“This is my story,” said Cort. He has played the characters before, but this time both the script and the characters hold a much deeper meaning than in the past.
“His father has gone mad and, fearing what he can’t control, Jekyll’s obsession begins,” Cort said.
The story takes a drastic turn when Jekyll begins to become the very thing he has committed to eradicate.
“My parallel story is having a father who struggled with mental illness and alcoholism. In my obsession to try to save him, I too became an alcoholic,” he said. “My father was a man that was a charismatic and highly respected professor, yet his hubris and pride drove him down a dark path.”
Cort said his own recovery journey has informed the way he now perceives and portrays his characters.
“I’m not acting up there. I just go back to those places of despair and loneliness,” he said. “The lie of mind-altering substances is the illusion that we feel powerful because we are stripped of our inhibitions. In reality, it is slowly diminishing and destroying us.”
“That’s what I’m hoping people take out of the show – it’s OK to not be OK,” Cofield said. “Just get the help you need before it’s too late. This whole story is a cautionary tale, watching somebody’s fear and ego destroy them.”
Cort added, “And it doesn’t have to end that way. There is hope.”
To support that hope, for this production, Main Stage has partnered with the local chapter of the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization. The local chapter will host an information booth at all performances.
“Jekyll & Hyde” performances are Sept. 12-22 at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at Seahawk Cultural Center, 70 Wilborn Road on Hilton Head Island. Tickets are $30 adult, $15 student and are available at mainstagecommunitytheatre.org.
If you have concerns about your mental health, connect with counselors at NAMI at (843) 686-3100 or namilowcountry.org.
CELEBRATING FALL: A SEASON OF FESTIVALS, MUSIC, AND CULTURE
As summer winds down and school routines resume, Hilton Head Island shifts into the vibrant fall “festival season.” This time of year is special for our community, as locals reconnect after summer travels and activities. The island comes alive with a variety of cultural events and celebrations that we heartily look forward to. I especially enjoy blending some culture and fun into my town meeting schedule.
One of the highlights is the Hilton Head Island Jam Songwriters Festival, returning for its second year September 18-22. The Town of Hilton Head Island is thrilled to be the presenting sponsor once again. This event, which brings Nashville songwriters to perform at various venues across the island, was a great success last year. Artists, patrons, and sponsors alike are excited about the lineup of performers this year.
So far, more than 30 performers, including award-winning songwriters and chart-topping artists, will be featured at venues like the Liberty Oak, Lincoln & South, The Jazz Corner, The Westin Resort’s Ocean Lounge, FISH, Big Bamboo, Beach House, and Lowcountry Celebration Park. This year’s lineup includes songwriters of the Country Music Association (CMA) Song of the Year winners and nominees, Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame members, writers of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and CMA Single of the Year, and chart-topping performers. Notably, this year’s festival will include two free community concerts at Lowcountry Celebration Park on September 20 and 21, headlined on Friday by LOCASH, who are also hosting a Golf Bash to raise funds for the Tunnels to Towers Foundation. Saturday’s headliner is Jeffrey Steele, the hall of fame songwriter who has co-written more than 60 hit songs for some of country music’s biggest names.
Following this musical celebration, the island will host the Latinos Unidos Food Festival September 29 at Lowcountry Celebration Park. Now in its 13th year, this event is a cherished local tradition that supports Volunteers in Medicine, which provides essential medical care for individuals who live and work on Hilton Head Island. The festival features live music, entertainment, authentic Latin cuisine, and family-friendly activities.
October ushers in the Crescendo celebration of art, culture, and history, which will run through November and conclude with the Hilton Head Island Lantern Parade on November 23. This season is filled with performances, art exhibitions,
MAYOR
HURRICANE / TROPICAL STORM PREPAREDNESS
Tropical Storm Debby sprinted out of gate to begin Bluffton’s hurricane season in early August, reminding us Mother Nature is in control. Each storm is unique and presents different obstacles to negotiate.
For perspective, Tropical Storm Debby dumped more rain in our area in its first 24 hours than Hurricane Matthew or Irma. Debby was a rain event, without the severe winds.
A cluster of neighborhoods off Buckwalter Parkway flooded as all their private drainage infrastructures tried to keep pace with the storm.
Planned neighborhoods have private drainage systems that are under the jurisdiction of their Property Owners Association (POA). The town is willing to assist POAs and its engineering contractor to review these systems and recommend enhancements to the existing systems after the storm subsides.
Town leaders and staff are concerned about every resident. However, the town does not have the authority to fix private infrastructure. Town team members are available to provide recommendations, assessments, and so forth.
Tropical Storm Debby was the ninth major storm since 2016. This area had enjoyed a nearly 60-year reprieve before Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Matthew affected Bluffton in 2016. Since then, Bluffton prepared for Tropical Storm Irma, Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Dorian, Tropical Storm Elsa, Hurricane Ian, and Tropical Storm Idalia last year.
Let Debby be a reminder to be prepared and take each storm seriously. Public officials are making decisions with safety as the first priority.
The town has prepared answers to frequently asked questions about hurricanes on its website. Visit townofbluffton. sc.gov/656/Hurricane-Season for detailed information.
A Note from Hilton Head Island Mayor, Alan Perry
A Note from Bluffton Mayor, Larry Toomer
workshops, and historical tours, showcasing the rich cultural life of our Island. The Crescendo Kickoff Party on October 15 at Shelter Cove Community Park will feature Grammy award-winning artist Charlton Singleton and his band Contemporary Flow.
As we look forward to these exciting events, I encourage you to stay connected with all the upcoming festivities and their details by visiting culturehhi.org. I hope to see you out and about enjoying all that our wonderful island has to offer this fall!.
Stormwater Management:
• Ensure that ditches, pipes, and storm drains are clear of blockages to prevent flooding.
• Town staff regularly inspect and clean town-maintained ditches, but private property owners must maintain their own.
Reliable Information Sources:
• During a hurricane, rely on local and county government channels for accurate information. Social media can be useful but verify the sources to avoid misinformation.
• The Town of Bluffton, Bluffton Police Department, and Beaufort County Emergency Management are key reliable sources.
Personal and Property Preparations:
• Follow the 5 P’s for personal readiness: People (and Pets), Prescriptions, Papers (important documents), Personal needs, and Priceless items.
• Create a paper record of contact information in case cell phone service is disrupted.
• Secure outdoor items that could become projectiles during high winds.
• Take photos or videos of your property for insurance purposes before and after the storm.
Insurance and Legal Considerations:
• Review and understand your insurance policies. Most standard homeowners’ policies do not cover flood damage.
• Consider obtaining flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (floodsmart.gov).
Be aware flood insurance usually has a 30-day waiting period before activation.
Pets and Animal Safety:
• Prepare a pet emergency kit with enough food, water, and medications for at least a week.
• Ensure pets have updated ID tags and microchip information. Keep current photos of your pets.
• Monitor pets closely to prevent exposure to storm debris or contaminated water.
Developer and Contractor Responsibilities:
• Ensure active construction sites are secured, with materials and debris properly managed.
• Maintain temporary fences and erosion control devices to prevent flooding and debris flow.
Be Prepared to Evacuate Early:
• Plan to leave prior to an official evacuation order to avoid traffic and ensure a safe route.
• Remember that emergency services might be suspended during extreme weather, and hospitals will close.
Stay Informed and Patient:
• The Governor is the only state official who authorizes evacuations.
• In Beaufort County, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Department of Emergency Management is the lead agency; the Town of Bluffton coordinates with that office.
For more detailed information and resources, refer to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division Hurricane Guide and the Town of Bluffton’s official website.
A Note from Larry Toomer continued
A Note from Alan Perry continued
Article by Jesse Blanco
FOODPRENEUR FIRES UP ANOTHER WINNING EATERY EXPERIENCE
Dave Peck has been on Hilton Head Island as long as he can remember. Anyone who is associated with running a restaurant on the island knows who he is. So do many customers of his various enterprises.
Serial entrepreneur? If you pinned him down, he’d probably agree. Why else would someone take on a new food venture simply because he was a little bored? Dave did, and we all might just be the beneficiaries of his new island collaboration at the Jarvis Creek General Store. Here’s a portion of my chat with Dave on how this all came to be.
JB: You’re an island guy. Were you born and raised here?
Peck: Not born here, but I’ve been here 51 years now.
JB: Wow! How did you end up doing food?
DP: The long short story is that I was in advertising for many years, first with Island Communications. Then I was with the Anderson Group, an ad agency on the island, and I met the owner of Salty Dog and started working with him on some advertising. He simply said, “Hey, do you want to come work in the restaurant business? I had no experience, but I thought it might be kind of fun. And he felt like I could do it, based on some good marketing experience I had. And that’s what happened. My first job with them was bar-backing at Salty Dog, and then I progressed quickly into running the restaurant. He just kind of wanted to get my feet wet with a couple other things.
JB: What year was that? It sounds like you jumped into the deep end quickly.
DP: Oh gosh. You’re going to tell everybody how old I am. I don’t even know the year. I can tell you it’s been about 25 years, maybe 29 years. Yeah, it was a really deep, quick jump.
JB: What was the first time you opened a place on your own, just you?
DP: The first time was when we opened Lowcountry Backyard.
JB: You started that place and then jumped from there to Bad Biscuit?
DP: Yes, we opened that. We still owned Lowcountry Backyard when we opened Bad Biscuit.
JB: How did the whole Pool Bar Jim’s thing come along?
DP: I worked for Jim – I’m dating myself again – at Jim’s Paradise, the nightclub he opened in 1984. I was his DJ back in the day, so I’ve known Jim for many years, and when he was in the process of leaving Marriott, where he had the pool bar, he came and hung out with us – we already had the bar at the Seacrest –and had a couple of beers after work one day. When he told me
he was getting out of Marriott, I said, “Why don’t you come over here?” And he said, “Well, it’s been 35 years, I think I’m just going to retire. I think I’m done.” And I said, “All right, you have to change your mind. Let me know.” About a week later, he showed up for another beer and I said, “Jim, why don’t we just do this? Why don’t you run the bar? I’ll do the food – we’ll work it out.” And he said, “All right, let’s do it!” And I think we’re on year number six with him now.
JB: Six years. This stuff isn’t easy, and I know you’re not cooking in all these places, but what possessed you to take on one more with the Jarvis Creek General Store?
DP: To be honest, the main reason I sold Lowcountry Backyard was because it was getting difficult to find help. And not having enough help was forcing me to work more. I was cooking and spending a lot more time in the kitchen, which is fine. I loved it, but I just didn’t want to be full-time back in the business.
So I sold it. I’m in my early 50s and I didn’t see any real reason to slow down, but I was getting bored. I think my wife was tired of me pacing around the garage. Then, these guys called me and said, “Hey, we’ve got this spot. We feel like it’s missing something. Do you have any advice?”
My advice was I thought it might be better with a local dining experience attached to it because it’s such a cool little spot. I felt like if we added that missing element, we might be able to draw more of a crowd down there. So, I said, “Let’s do it.” And it was mostly out of wanting to have something to do. Plus, I like seeing other places succeed. I like contributing to their success. I like a challenge. And here we are.
JB: Tell me about the food there. What are your plans?
DP: We’re going to keep it Lowcountry and Southern. That’s what I know how to do, and that’s what I’m comfortable doing, and that’s what I’ve been successful doing. We’ve got some cool stuff on the menu.
We’ve got a Lowcountry Boil Parfait, which is my original creation. I like to twist things, make it my own. It’s not a traditional Lowcountry Boil like you would dump on the table. It’s actually a parfait with red rice, rosemary potatoes and corn. Then we finish it off with a Daufuskie double crab cake. I happen to know how to make that – I learned from a guy on Daufuskie how to make it the right way. And we finished off with that and some garlic shrimp, and we also drizzle some hurricane sauce on it, which is our own creation as well.
JB: Sounds good. How would you describe the scene there at the general store? The fact that you’re sitting practically on top of 278 – do you kind of forget it’s there?
DP: I would call it very low key, laid-back, Lowcountry style dining. You’re under this huge oak tree outside. You’ve got the big screen TVs out there if you want to watch football or see what’s going on. And you can sit in an Adirondack, you can sit at a table, you can sit at a picnic table, you can sit at a bistro table under an awning. It’s kind of like the laid-back outdoor atmosphere at your own house. I’m not going to lie and say when you pull up, you don’t hear the traffic, but once you’ve got the live entertainment going or you’re watching something on the TV and you’ve got the volume turned up, you forget about all that.
Jesse Blanco
Dave Peck
ARTICLE BY AMY BARTLETT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.KAT
@ HOME WITH
Julie Parsley, Hairdresser
There’s a reason why Julie Parsley, life-time career artist of hair and style, specifically refers to herself as a “hairdresser.” She considers herself a sort of dressmaker/ designer who works with the “fabric” of hair. This is why her clients never see themselves as simply getting their hair cut but gaining a personalized designer creation that’s perfectly runway ready.
With where she’s been and what she has accomplished over the past 35+ years, Parsley is less about turning out cookie-cutter cuts and more about cutting in line to create current, edgy, and innovative styles.
“When people come to me, they’re ready for something new,” she said, introducing her ideal client. “If you’re happy with a dated style, I’m probably not your gal, and that’s okay. I’m not the perfect fit for everyone. But if you’ve been wondering what your hair could be like and want to see what’s possible, have a seat and let’s take a look.”
Parsley says this, knowing that the look speaks volumes. It’s her walking calling card. “I know my name and reputation are worked into your hair, and I take that seriously. I start with taking in the whole canvas—the head shape, face shape—and begin to drape the fabric of the hair and see how it falls, how it moves,” she said, explaining that she doesn’t just cut blunt or with traditional layers but cuts “inside the hair,” and therefore styles 100 percent on dry hair.
A life-long career woman, Parsley has always known her brand. “I figured out early who I was, what I liked, and what I was here to do. I didn’t even have dolls. I had Barbies because Barbies were adults I could style, and I knew that’s where I thrived.”
This innate ability got her noticed and scouted by Paul Mitchell for her skill and potential for influencing others. “What I do, I can teach others,” she said, “but you have to have the eye to begin with.”
Julie Parsley sits in her cozy and artistic home.
Parsley was naturally gifted with that sense of style and artistry, which she painstakingly worked into a notable career with a recognizable roster of salons, training platforms, and profiles in print publications. She spent several decades as a salon and spa owner/operator and nearly half the years on her résumé as a platform artist and educator with John Paul Mitchell Systems.
Parsley is one who pours her aesthetic and creativity into every element of who (and where) she is. It’s a je ne sais quoi that you can see in everything she puts her hand to including each carefully curated room of her artful home in Bluffton, in her personal sense of style and fashion, and in each client’s customized, creative, and well-balanced form.
Balance is a word she uses frequently about her art. “When I design hair, I’m not going for even, I’m going for
balance,” she said, pairing two words others might think are similar, but not to Parsley. “It’s not about matching lengths and layers in your hair; it’s about working them together into the perfect balance,” she explained. She dresses your tresses with a decorator’s sense of feng shui.
From the first cut to making the cut in international settings, “Julie Parsley Hairdresser” invests her time and expertise in staying ahead of the game. Having freelanced abroad in London, England and Berlin, Germany, Parsley has continued to push the envelope, pairing her formidable foundation of learned skills with an innovative artistic sensibility that is pure Parsley—exploring current styles and techniques as well as changing culture and aesthetics, a reputation that has landed her in Modern Salon and other national salon magazines.
“All my haircuts have memory,” she said. “You can go
in and find the expression your hair is meant to have, what we discovered with the fabric of your hair before, and drape that winning look around you. Or we could create a whole new you. I tell people, ‘You don’t know the half of what your hair could look like until you’ve left.’ I help clients who are on a journey of discovery of finding happiness they didn’t know they could have with their hair—in my chair, and in my care.”
Currently renting a chair and working her magic from the south side of Hilton Head Island at Coco Coiffure Salon, 51 New Orleans Road, Suite 1A, she keeps her client list down to three days a week. “I’m a beach girl,” she said. “Some people golf three days a week. Hairdressing is my passion and my art. I’ve done all the things you can do in this field. I’ve owned salons, I’ve taught internationally. I don’t want to retire; I love what I do, and I love what it does for the people who come to me.”
It’s all about the balance for her though, which is why the other days of the week she can be found seaside, often at Pool Bar Jim’s, striking up conversation or having what she calls “meet-and-greets” over Tito’s and soda.
“I’m here in the Lowcountry to raise the bar, break rules, connect with people and disconnect them from what’s keeping them stuck in old styles,” she said. Asked how her style would be defined in a word or two, she answers without skipping a beat, “Bohemian Collection.” It’s a ‘balance’ of words that makes you look around her home, no matter the room, and understand what she’s created. In her ethereal, cozybalconied home, she balances ornate antiques (like a set of patina-colored doors from Furniture Solutions 151 on the island) with a complete set of galleried contemporary art, which used to hang in one of her salons, and a faux-fur sofa as steel gray as the Atlantic in December. She knows who she is, and what she can do, and she has built a life on elevating what others believe their hair can do—or what their hair can do for them.
Julie Parsley works her magic at 51 New Orleans Rd., Suite 1 A, on Hilton Head Island (inside Coco Coiffure Salon). For an appointment or more information, call (304) 677-4968.
A Series of Fortunate Events, interesting news and a hodge-podge of other items. You know…this and that! If you would like to submit something for this special section, please email maggie@ch2cb2magazine.com. If we have room and it’s appropriate for public consumption, we’ll be happy to oblige.
Fall into Art, presented by the Artists of Sea Pines (AoSP), will celebrate its debut with a welcome reception 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 26, at the Sea Pines Community Center. Following its successful winter collaboration with the Artists of Hilton Head Plantation, the Artists of Sea Pines welcomes the participation by the Artists of Long Cove to this new show, which will be on exhibit through Jan. 10, 2025. Denise DeMarzo Liotta will be the Spotlight Artist for Fall into Art. An oil painter whose still life paintings bear a remarkable resemblance to reality, Liotta has been a threetime invited participant in the Art League of Hilton Head Biennale and was a recent featured artist at the Art League. The reception is free and open to the public at the Sea Pines Community Center, 71 Lighthouse Road in the Shops at Sea Pines. For further information email Donna@ DonnaBarnako.com.
Songwriters in the Round, an evening to benefit the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, will return to Hilton Head Island on October 24 at 6:30pm. The event with be held at the Hilton Head Airport Hangar at 75 Summit Drive. Nashville artists will perform original songs in an intimate environment with hors d’ oeuvres and cocktails. For more information and tickets, visit scgsah.org.
The Wander Braga Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy, offering worldclass training and competition in the art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and self-defense, will open this month on Hilton Head Island.
The academy offers a social and fun way to stay active and healthy, with a modern approach to training that is grounded in the traditional elements and values of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Instructors strive to create an environment that fosters growth and development, both on and off the mat, by emphasizing the importance of discipline, respect, and perseverance. They believe that BJJ is more than just a sport, but a way of life that can help individuals build self-confidence, improve physical fitness, and cultivate mental fortitude.
Instructors are Wander Braga, a sixth-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, recognized worldwide as a world class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA fighter and instructor; and Ignacio “Iggy” Sanchez, a three-time world champion with more than 20 years of experience competing and coaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and muay thai.
For more information, email bragabrothersusa@gmail.com or call (704) 303-0896.
Mandy Parsons has joined Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry as Chief Executive Officer and President. Parsons has 22 years of experience with nonprofits, including most recently interim CEO, acting COO, and acting CFO at United Way of the Coastal Empire. At United Way of Coastal Empire, Parsons spearheaded strategic planning initiatives, streamlined operational processes, and diversified revenue streams – all significantly improving the organization’s financial health and operational efficiency. Throughout her distinguished career, Parsons has been recognized for her ability to drive organizational growth, enhance cultures, and execute transformative changes.
Prior to her work at United Way, Parsons was a senior manager and area director for the American Cancer Society in Savannah, and in development for a private school in Kentucky.
Article by Barry Kaufman
ALL HEROES WELCOME HERE
OPFOB expands on its mission of helping heroes heal
Mike Morrissey was just 21 years old when he entered the New York City Police Department. It was a family tradition: “We had a combined 250 years of law enforcement. Literally everybody was a cop,” he said.
Coming from that law enforcement family that included his father, brother, and cousins, Morrissey thought he knew was he was getting into. Then, just three weeks out of the police academy, he was given his trial by fire during his first shootout in his East Bushwick beat in Brooklyn.
“The veteran guys all sat me down that night and told me what to expect on my 45-minute ride home,” he said. “They said, ‘You’re going to replay the shooting a million times in your head, you’re not going to be able to sleep, and when you finally fall asleep, you’re going to wake up and it’s the first thing you’re going to think of.”
Fortunately, he wasn’t that shaken by first violent encounter on the job. Eight years in, however, with a looming divorce and a cancer diagnosis swirling around in his head, it became a different story.
“I was going down a bad rabbit hole, and two guys I worked with started to see a change in my personality,” Morrissey said. “I told them, ‘No, I’m good, I’m good, I’m good.’ But I wasn’t.”
His friends talked him into joining a support group for NYPD’s heroes to help cope with the stress of the job. “You can just go in there and talk. I hate the term ‘safe space,’ but that’s the perfect term for it,” he said. “I was part of that group for 20 years.”
That experience of seeing the difference a support group can make led Morrissey to OPFOB, the Ridgelandbased group dedicated to lifting up veterans who are having difficulty with the often intolerable strain that comes with being a hero.
The acronym stands for Operation Patriot: Forward Operating Base. The organization is headquartered on 268 acres in Ridgeland.
The goal of OPFOB is simple – to be there for heroes. With the suicide rate among veterans and first responders at an appalling high, OPFOB provides a place to come together, share experiences, and build camaraderie. On fishing trips, at their private range, and around the bonfire, veterans and first responders can come here to discover that all-important truth: No matter how dark it seems, you are not in this alone.
“I have developed relationships down there that have absolutely changed my life,” Morrissey said. He now serves as the organization’s First Responder Liaison, working with area police, fire, and law enforcement to ensure them that they all have a place at OPFOB.
Building on his mission, Morrissey organized the inaugural First Responders Appreciation Day last year, an outing to the FOB for police, firefighters, EMS, corrections
HOPS FOR HEROES
One special event added to this year’s will be the release of a special collaboration beer brewed between a handful of OPFOB volunteers and Lot 9 Brewing Co. of Bluffton. Crafted with assistance from OPFOB volunteers, the name of this brew was still under wraps at press time, but Brewmaster Walt Trifari shared that it will be a classic Dortmunder, “the old-school, brownbottle Michelob style that your dad drank,” he said. “It’s a throwback to an older style of beer and a salute to all the years of effort these guys have put in.”
The collaboration is the latest round of support from Lot 9, which has been a champion for OPFOB since they opened their doors.
“We met JR and Stephanie (OPFOB co-founders Roy “JR” Brown Jr. and Stephanie Brown) the first year we were open,” Trifari said. “We went out and saw what they do and were blown away by their excitement. When they were telling us the reality of what veterans and first responders were facing, honestly, I was naïve to it and had no clue. I’m glad I learned, and I want to help them from here on out.”
officers, and anyone else on the front lines. Wrapped in a family fun day that included live music, a bouncy house, and a range competition was that enduring message that OPFOB is there for every hero, whether military or not.
“I wanted first responders to come down with their families and just enjoy themselves, because a lot of these first responders go to work, and maybe they don’t feel comfortable coming home and talking to their wife or husband or whatever, about the horrific day they just had,” Morrissey said. “So, what do they do? They bottle it up. And that’s never good.”
This year’s event, to be held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. September 7 at OPFOB, will expand beyond last year’s with more bouncy houses, a cornhole tournament, and a massive static display of patrol cars, firetrucks, and more.
“As a retired guy, I like seeing the static display, but the kids? They absolutely love it,” Morrissey said. “What kid doesn’t want to jump in a police car and hit the siren?”
It’s a day of family fun, but it’s a day with a mission that is as important today as it was when a young Mike Morrissey sought help from his fellow heroes.
“You don’t know when somebody’s going down that dark rabbit hole,” he said. “Now, they can see all the support they have. And hopefully they’ll come on down and see what we’re doing here.”
For tickets and more information, visit opfob.org.
