More than just a facelift, local restaurant has a total rebirth
By Lorne Chambers | Editor
The restaurant formerly known as The Grill on the Edge has spent several years trying to find its identity. Eventually it turned into the Grill & Island Bar but the same problems seemed to dog the highly-visible restaurant space located on the corner of Center Street and Hudson Avenue in what used to be an old Esso station. Consistency and a menu that sometimes seemed schitzophrenic did well with tourists but never seemed to resonate with locals.
Having owned and operated restaurants since 1974, Ryan Condon and Dan Doyle were very aware of the many talented individuals in this business who had a desire to own their own restaurant on Folly Beach. And after a five-year search they were finally able to team up with a longtime friend and local resident Steve Carroll. The three of them were determined to create a restaurant and bar that would be loved by locals and visitors alike, a restaurant with a laid back, and relaxed coastal atmosphere.
“If you look at this spot, with the parking lot and patio, and just the building itself. When you have a block on Center Street, you can do a lot with that,” says Carroll, an experienced restauranteur who helped turned Red’s Icehouse on Shem Creek and Bohicket Marina into wildly popular places to eat. He is also the former head of the Charleston Restaurant Association and has a strong understanding of how to connect with local communities and create places where folks can enjoy good food, live local music, cool cocktails, and cold beer.
“Dan (Doyle) and Ryan (Condon) are really good at what they do,” says Caroll. “I’m more of a ‘big picture’ guy. When I walked in I knew what the place should look like. For them to trust me it meant a lot.”
The first thing Carroll did was open up the patio facing Hudson Avenue and built a large outdoor bar that is packed almost every afternoon. “We just made it more accessible. Add the bar concept and the music concept to it, and you got a place people want to hang out,” he says. “It’s simple really — cold beer, good food, and a little hospitaityl.”
According to Carroll, Folly Beach is near and dear to him and his family who grew up coming here. His dad even worked at the old Atlantic Pavilion whne he was a kid. “I grew up surfing with the owners of both of the surf shops out here,” says Caroll.
With a love for Folly Beach and a lifetime of experience, Carroll and his partners seem to have found the right formula for the space. The name is an obvious nod to Folly’s surf culture and gives the place a more local touch than The Grill & Island Bar did.
But more than just a facelift, there is a completely different feel about the restaurant now. Consistent service, a simpler more focused menu, and a place that is comfortable, whether you’re a local or a visitor from Minnesota.
“I said ‘let’s simplify the menu’ and make everything the best it can be and have a healthy look to what we do,” says Carroll, who took some things off the old Grill menu and added several new items, like blackened saku tuna bites and bacon wrapped BBQ scallop skewers. But even if seafood is not your thing, there are plenty of options, such as steak sliders, burgers, grilled jerk chicken and tomato pie, and nachos.
“We truly have something for everyone,” says Carroll. “I envision a 12-top here vacationing over the summer. The kids want a burers, the parents want fresh seafood, and granddad wants a steak. We can do that.”
