New restaurant aims to harness the energy of pier’s heyday
By Lorne Chambers | Editor
If you were around Folly Beach in the 1950s, then you probably remember Kokomo’s Lounge, a popular watering hole on the corner of Center Street and Artic Avenue that was frequented by U.S. serviceman looking for a little R&R. Kokomo’s, along with Joe’s Restaurant, and the Ocean Front Hotel and Pavilion burned on April 19, 1957.
Nearly 60 years to the day of that fire, Pier 101 opened its doors. Located at the base of the Edwin S. Taylor Folly Beach Fishing Pier, the island’s newest restaurant’s signature drink is called The Kokomo, a creamy coconut cocktail that’s a salute to the classic Folly bar by the same name. In fact, much of what the Avocet Hospitality Group is doing with their newest restaurant is a nod to Folly’s golden age. The retro yellow seats and enlarged photos of vintage Folly photographs help set the tone. Pier 101’s logo is even a tip of the hat to original sign that adorned the old pier before it was destroyed in the fire.
“The whole idea was to bring back memories of the past and the history of Folly,” says Matthew Zengerle, general manager of Pier 101 as well as Tides Folly Beach and Blu. According to him, the goal was to create a place where people could come and enjoy the pier like they used to back when it was epicenter of Folly’s social scene. But in order to do that, several renovations were made to the space, which previously housed Locklear’s Beach City Grill.
After three months of planning and renovating, the most noticeable change was moving the bar from against enclosed front wall, to facing the ocean and creating a double sided-bar offering a view of the beach and the pier on the inside of the restaurant and on nicer days, an open-air outdoor side that looks back into the restaurant. There is also a standalone outdoor bar, giving customers a better opportunity to experience the pier and the best view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Like Locklear’s before, Pier 101 has an exclusive arrangement with Charleston County Parks, which manages the pier, to allow people to buy drinks at the restaurant and take them onto the pier. “You were always allowed to purchase cocktails and bring them down the pier. We wanted to make it accessible to Joe the Fisherman, with his shirt off and no shoes, to get a drink and go back out on the pier and fish,” says Zengerle.
While the bars are a key part of the restaurant, Zengerle says the goal with Pier 101 is to not compete with the beach party vibe outside at Tides/Blu, but rather put a strong emphasis on family. “This is something we tried to do with both the cuisine —having foot-long hotdogs, hamburgers, quesadillas, fish tacos — but also the atmosphere and the music we play,” he says. “Even the music is a throwback to the origins of the Folly Pier and boardwalk, back in the ’50s.”
Zengerle says with Pier 101, the company wanted to offer a very different experience from its sister Folly restaurant. “We want to have two strong, different identities, from the concept, from the menu, and the atmosphere,” he says. While Blu is Folly’s most upscale dining option, Pier 101 is more beachy-casual in its concept, menu, and price point.
Obviously a restaurant on the pier is going to be a tourist attraction for out-of-towners visiting Folly, but Zengerle encourages locals to come out and experience the newest edition to Folly’s food scene. As a Charleston-based company with a strong Folly Beach presence, Zengerle says they have been very open to local feedback and admits that it took a little time to work out the kinks in the first month. “We had to revisit certain menu items, review our presentation, and work on service training,” he says, adding that the restaurant is now hitting its stride just in time for what should be a record summer beach season.
Pier 101 is located at 101 E Arctic Ave. For more information, call (843) 633-0246
or visit www.pier101folly.com
