Our Charleston Black Book

Charleston is chock-full of historic charm: cobblestone alleys lined with palmettos, candy-colored row homes and grand 18th-century mansions, a skyline dotted with church steeples, and antiques shops loaded with treasures all along King Street. But the city is shedding its stodgier image, thanks in large part to a thriving arts community, an inventive food scene putting new spins on Lowcountry cooking, and cultural institutions engaging with its complex, turbulent history, including a new African American Museum two decades in the making. Our band of local contributors share their favorite go-tos, from grilled oysters and crab rice to a speakeasy above a record shop, Gullah basket makers and bookshops, plus parks with Spanish moss-draped oaks and sandy beaches where you can spot dolphins from your dinner table.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Brooks Reitz is the founder of Jack Rudy Cocktail Co., owner of several epic restaurants in Charleston including Leon’s Oyster Shop, Melfi’s, and Little Jack’s, and the author of the Substack newsletter, A Small and Simple Thing.

Diego Gonzalez is the co-founder of Public Regard, an architecture and interior design studio based in Charleston. Diego and his husband, Evan Gonzalez, made the move from New York City to Charleston in 2021 after several years working in the city and ultimately wanting to return to the south and start their own venture.

Femi Oyediran is a sommelier and co-owner of Graft Wine Shop & Bar and Tutti Pizza in Charleston. An Advanced Sommelier, Food & Wine Sommelier of the Year, and James Beard Award semifinalist, he brings a love of wine, music, and travel to his approach to hospitality and bringing people together.

G. Blake Sams is the visionary behind Gregory Blake Sams Events, a bi-coastal firm based in New York City and Charleston, known for producing one-of-a-kind experiences domestically and abroad. His distinct vision of how to live well extends to GBS Interiors, his residential, hospitality, and commercial design studio, and his brick-and-mortar concept, Wentworth, which has been recognized as a top home decor destination by Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Veranda, Vogue, and FREDERIC.

Helen Rice is a Charleston-based artist and designer. She’s a co-founder of the creative agency Fuzzco, collector at Ponytail (a shop for objects, art, and furniture), restorer of old buildings (see Serious Buildings), and most recently she’s been making a series of sculptures.

Isabel Bornstein is an Argentine artist and maker based in Charleston. Originally from Buenos Aires, Bornstein began making collages while working in her father’s art gallery and design shop in 2011, and now works by hand creating analog collages and abstract paintings (represented by The George Gallery), among other works. Her work has been exhibited across the U.S. and in Argentina.

John Ondo is a Charleston-born chef who has now returned to Peninsula Grill—the restaurant where his culinary career began nearly three decades ago—for a celebrated homecoming. A 2022 South Carolina Chef Ambassador, Ondo brings an intimate understanding of the region’s culinary traditions and a globally informed, ingredient-driven sensibility. 

John and Jaimie Dewberry are the husband-wife duo behind The Dewberry, one of Charleston’s most revered boutique hotels. John has had a 30-year career in real estate, while his wife Jaimie is the co-owner and creative director of design firm, D Studio. Together with their young daughter, they split their time between their homes in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charleston.

Lia Burke Libaire is a Charleston-based visual artist and designer and the co-founder of textile company Brier and Byrd. She began her career in New York City, translating her love of art and architecture into the world of interior design where she worked for 12 years before relocating to Charleston and pursuing art full time. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Brides, and Garden & Gun, among others.  

Malika N. Pryor JD is a museum and cultural arts leader with nearly two-decades of experience in redefining and renewing institutional spaces. Pryor currently serves as Chief Learning and Engagement Officer for the International African American Museum in Charleston, where she’s dedicated to animating and sustaining the museum’s mission. A native of Detroit, she’s lived a little bit of everywhere, including The Bahamas. Malika loves reading, traveling, music of all kinds, and dancing (while cooking) in the kitchen like no one’s watching. 

Matt and Ted Lee, who grew up in Charleston, are the founders of the Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue, a mail-order catalogue for Southern pantry staples like stone-ground grits, fig preserves, and of course, boiled peanuts. They are also food journalists and cookbook authors who have written hundreds of features and several books on Southern food and the world of cooking.

Nancy Novogrod and her lawyer husband exchanged their Manhattan apartment overlooking the East River for a house built in 1747 in Charleston’s Historic District three years ago. They now live between South Carolina and their former weekend place in Litchfield County, CT. Nancy was the long-ago Editor in Chief of House & Garden and, for over two decades, of Travel + Leisure. She’s now a luxury travel consultant with the firm she founded, Culturati Travel Design, an affiliate of Local Foreigner. 

Sally Simms is the owner of Super Saturday, an antiques, vintage art, and home-decor store in Charleston, selling things that make people go “wow, great place.” She also secretly has a career as a tech exec, but that doesn’t usually hit people the same as the antiques thing.

Sarah Nechamkin is a freelance writer and editor who has written about Charleston for Prior and The Pinch Hotel’s online journal, The Manner. Her work has appeared in New York Magazine, Interview, Elle, and other places. She is also a contributing editor at Yolo. 

Summer Anderson is the owner of Ladybird Books in Charleston. For almost 20 years, she has had the joy of reading, reviewing, and sharing favorite books with readers through Summer Says. Originally from Alabama, she studied English at the University of Mississippi before spending two decades in New York, Los Angeles, and Birmingham. She and her family have called the Lowcountry home since 2018, and when she’s not at the bookstore, you’ll likely find her cheering on her two girls, getting outside with her two dogs, Felix and Paddy, or, of course, reading.

STAYS

Favorite splurge hotel?

The Dewberry Hotel is a classic. A lively lobby bar makes for the nightcap spot of the social season, and James the bartender holds court. The rooms are impeccably designed and the spa on-site is the perfect added touch. —Diego Gonzalez. John Dewberry spent eight years turning a 1960s federal building overlooking Marion Square into one of Charleston’s most distinctive hotels. Mid-century architecture, Vermont marble bathrooms, beautiful vintage furnishings, and a walled garden. I love that it feels entirely at home in Charleston without resorting to the usual Southern clichés. —G. Blake Sams. I love The Dewberry. It was designed by our best friends, and the mid-century building, on the edge of Marion Square, is beautiful. We like the rooftop bar, or drinks in the lobby bar. They often activate their streetfront retail with interesting designers, and they’ve been a great partner in supporting some of the live music shows I am starting to produce.—Brooks Reitz. Classic mid-century modern luxury, this hotel is a departure from the more traditional 19th-century Southern charm that fills the peninsula. But it is no less charming. Great rooms, close to everything. Service is impeccable. —Malika Pryor. The only place to stay! —John & Jaimie Dewberry. The Dewberry, hands down! Don’t miss the Citrus Club, their rooftop bar. The spa is my favorite place to hide and reset. —Summer Anderson. The building is mid-century, with stylish modern interiors, a scene-y roof bar that draws a young crowd, and a very good spa (I go here for massages). Rooms can be rather compact—but there are some small suite options. —Nancy Novogrod.