Family Photographer in West Ashley, SC

When Charleston residents are asked about the city’s barbecue, they likely mention Rodney Scott (Rodney Scott’s BBQ), John Lewis (Lewis Barbecue), Aaron Siegel and Taylor Garrigan (Home Team BBQ), and Anthony DiBernardo (Swig & Swine).

Many will soon be adding Hector Garate of Palmira Barbecue to that list.

After introducing beef cheeks, sofrito-spiced sausage and his own take on whole hog barbecue to Charleston at Port of Call Food + Brew Hall, Garate is taking the next step in his career.

The Puerto Rican-born chef will open a brick-and-mortar restaurant by March 2023.

Also named Palmira Barbecue, the forthcoming establishment will be located at 2366 Ashley River Road, previously occupied by Sunflower Cafe, which closed in September.

“We’ve been actively looking for a location for the past five months,” Garate said. “Port of Call was a great stepping stone, but for us, we’re ready for that brick and mortar. … It’s overdue for us.”

Once open, Palmira Barbecue will likely serve customers Thursday through Sunday, common hours for family-owned barbecue restaurants with slim staffs. Sweatman’s Barbeque in Holly Hill, for instance, is only open Fridays and Saturdays.

Garate is looking to create that type of approachable setting at Palmira Barbecue.

“That’s the type of feel we want,” Garate said. “We’re expecting to do a lot of volume, so we want to prep throughout the week.”

Those who have visited Garate at the food hall or one of his pop-ups know to expect a few signature items, all of which will be served at the new restaurant.

Beef cheeks, vinegar-sauced whole hog from Marvin Ross at Peculiar Pig Farm and arroz con gandules, an ode to his Puerto Rican heritage, are among the options.

Garate’s sausages also set Palmira apart from your run-of-the-mill joint. The pionono, made from the trimmings of the beef cheeks, is laced with sweet plantains, sofrito and cheese. The smoked cotechino uses bits from the hog heads accented with allspice, cinnamon and white wine, creating a rosy-hued sausage.

These items and others he has been serving at the food hall will form the base of the menu at Palmira Barbecue, though Garate is open to adding new options, like wagyu beef cheeks and smoked vegetables.

A Puerto Rican designer will help Garate revamp the former café space, equipped with a whole hog cooker and two 500-gallon smokers the pitmaster is currently building himself. Both will be situated near the front of the restaurant, with the goal of making this barbecue experience more interactive.

“We have the passion and the drive to create the best barbecue we can,” Garate said. “When you walk in you’re going to have that feel.”

Nov. 15 was Palmira Barbecue’s last day at Port of Call Food + Brew Hall, though Charleston barbecue enthusiasts can sample Garate’s food at an upcoming pop-up. He will also appear at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival and collaborate with other Charleston area restaurants ahead of the opening.

Palmira Barbecue’s schedule can be found on Instagram @palmirabbq.

Charleston County parks is looking to spend millions of dollars on a new park in West Ashley near Charles Towne Landing.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County parks is looking to spend millions of dollars on a new park in West Ashley near Charles Towne Landing.

Behind a gate off Old Towne Road sits 67 acres of land called Old Towne Creek County Park, the majority of which is protected for conservation. The county wants to add features to the land and open it up for the public to use.

“As you look around, you see different pockets of where the sun is shining through, and people will be able to peer into different spaces and different windows into the landscape,” Charleston County Parks Senior Planner Matt Moldenhauer said. “Obviously, we’re on a peninsula surrounded by Old Towne Creek, which is spectacular, and so people really get to appreciate all we have here.”

The county is accepting construction bids for the planned park. Moldenhauer said they want to add a one mile, Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible walking trail, build a park center with restrooms and a pavilion as well as create separate entrances for vehicles and pedestrians.

There are three historic structures on the property. The county plans to fix up the outside of two homes built in the 1910s, but people will not be able to go inside.

“That [conservation] easement not only protects the landscape of most of the property but also two of the structures, which were built in the early 1900s,” Moldenhauer said.

Officials also hope to add a playground and an elevated overlook of the creek, but it depends on the bids they get back from contractors.

Moldenhauer said the park has been in the works since the county bought the property just over 10 years ago. The property had been privately owned up until then.

Neighbors said they are excited about it potentially opening, since the site is only open for certain events, such as Wine Down Wednesdays, which will be cancelled until renovations are complete.

“We have to keep our eyes open where it’s available for us to go,” neighbor Noel Beatty said. “We’ll frequent it more if it’s made more available to the general public.”

Moldenhauer said these improvements are part of phase one of the park. There is no timetable for a second phase at this time.

Officials hope to start construction early next year and have it open to the public in 2025.

“We hope that when they come out here, we’ve really done our best to take a very light touch on this already immaculate landscape,” Moldenhauer said.

The county will be holding a meeting Wednesday at 10 a.m. for contractors to visit the site and come up with quotes for potential bids.

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COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Keegan-Filion Farm in Colleton County was originally started in the 1930s by Annie Filion's grandfather to raise crops.

"We took over in 2001 and now raise chickens, turkeys, pork and beef," said owner Marc Filion.

However, just like many businesses around the country, the Keegan-Filion Farm has faced supply issues.

"For the last couple years, we've faced really high corn and soybean meal prices, which is the basis for your feed," Filion said. "But processing issues – they can't get labor. We can't get labor, so we've had to downsize."

The supply issues then affect business.

"The processing issue has cost us to scale down in chickens. We've lost some customers due to the high price that we charge because of the cost of feed and the cost of the processing."

There are a number of reasons for the supply issues. One reason – weather events.

"The hatchery that we get our chicks from gets their hatching eggs from Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In the spring, the tornadoes that came through destroyed a bunch of their houses, so we were having problems getting our baby chicks. So it all works out, but it has cut us back on revenue going from 1,200 birds down to 350, but we're making it work."

Another reason being one businesses around the country know all too well – labor shortages.

"So we're running, you know, what are we four full-time and two part-time. Before COVID, we were six full-time and then I think two part-time, so we've had to cut back – not because of a lack of sales, but because of lack of personnel."

And though their farm has not been affected directly from avian influenza, there are still indirect impacts.

"There have been broiler flocks destroyed, but mostly turkeys and laying hens. So we had a little bit of a problem getting turkey poults this year compared to years past."

Despite the shortages, Filion remains positive about the future of their farm.

"We're doing a lot of things on the farm to try to allow us to keep going, like mechanizing as much of our labor as we possibly can, cutting out the less profitable items and doing more of the profitable items. Things like that, I think we'll be fine."

Congratulations to Wren's Ashley Stein, the winner of SBLive South Carolina's Athlete of Week award as voted by South Carolina high school sports fans.

Stein, a 6-foot-1 junior outside hitter, smacked 16 kills in the AAA Upper State finals against Powdersville. Wren won 3-1 and then went on to win the state championship.

If you would like to nominate an athlete, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or message us on Twitter or Instagram at @sblivesc.

Here are all the other athletes that were nominated for Oct. 31-Nov. 5:

Chas Smith, Gaffney, Football

A freshman running back, Smith had 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries. He also caught 2 passes for 37 yards. That's making an impact early in a player’s career.

Bri Mahoney, Aiken, Volleyball

The Wofford-bound outside hitter had 22 kills and 17 digs in a 3-1 victory over rival South Aiken in the Upper State finals. She then helped lead the Green Hornets to a 3-2 win over North Myrtle Beach for the AAAA state championship.

Aliam Appler, Dutch Fork, Football

The Silver Foxes’ senior quarterback threw for 193 yards, ran for 61 and accounted for 4 touchdowns.

Scott Saylor, Carolina Forest, Football

Saylor threw for five touchdowns and set the school record for passing yardage in a season as the Spartans overcame River Bluff 42-28. The senior quarterback was 12 of 19 for 268 yards without a turnover.

Drew Arant, Saluda, Football

It doesn't get much sharper than this. Arant was 12-of-14 for 204 yards and 5 touchdowns - all in the first half - as Saluda easily dispatched of Liberty in the AA playoffs.

Darren Floyd, West Florence, Football

This was a huge performance. Floyd erupted for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns on 27 carries as fourth-ranked West Florence pulled away from Lugoff-Elgin 52-27. He scored on runs of 41, 26, 37, 39 and 75 yards.

Jarvis Green, Dutch Fork, Football

Green seemingly does this every week. The James Madison recruit had 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns rushing. He caught 5 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown as Dutch Fork improved to 10-1.

Demarius Foster, Dorman, Football

The star tailback ran 25 times for 274 yards and a touchdown in Dorman’s 37-7 win over Clover. He also caught 2 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Tyler Smith, Barnwell, Football

Smith had a huge night for the undefeated Warhorses, running 22 times for 343 yards and 6 touchdowns. He’s been doing this all season.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A West Ashley restaurant plans to close for good after 17 years in business.

The Sunflower Cafe, located at 2366 Ashley River Road, will serve its last meal on Sept. 30. Owner Jennifer Adams said a lot of things led to the decision, among them ongoing staffing challenges, food shortages and rising food costs.

“The price of everything has literally doubled,” she said. “When you’re a breakfast and lunch place, how high can you go?”

She said the COVID-19 pandemic really changed everything, but especially so for small businesses.

“I don’t really see an end in sight,” she said.

The family-owned restaurant, located at 2366 Ashley River Road, opened its doors in August 2005. Operated by four generations of women, the cafe has come to be known by its regulars at least as much for its personal touch as the authentic family recipes.

Those recipes have included breakfast favorites like omelets, benedicts, waffles and pancakes. Lunchtime staples have included “the Best Sandwich in Charleston,” with grilled filet mignon topped with swiss cheese and onion aioli on grilled ciabatta bread and au jus for dipping; a pan-seared Salmon filet served over fresh spinach salad with strawberries, feta and toasted pecans tossed with balsamic vinaigrette; a shrimp platter, or a grilled chicken sandwich topped with caramelized onions and swiss cheese on a toasted croissant with basil dijionnaise.

For some regulars, no visit was complete without a dessert of powdered sugar-dusted beignets.

“We treat them like family,” Adams said of her customers. “I never felt like it was a restaurant. I thought of it as another version of my home where I feed them. We genuinely love our customers.”

Their loyal, longtime customers feel the same way.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many restaurants were forced to offer take-out-only service, Adams said they were overwhelmed by the community’s reaction.

“I do love all of them and I appreciate the support we had during the pandemic,” she said, adding that people even offered donations to the restaurant to help keep them going. “It was really amazing to know we touched people and they touched us.”

The restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. offering breakfast and lunch; and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast only.

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