Co-Working Space in Knightsville, SC

SUMMERVILLE — Tables begin to fill up just past noon at a restaurant 31 miles from downtown Charleston.

Surrounded by chain eateries in a Publix-anchored strip mall, La Cuisine Du Chevalier — or La Chev, as most call it — has the buzz of an energetic lunch crowd ready for some midday human interaction.

A trio of women attempt to corral four children while dunking grilled bread into large white bowls of bouillabaisse, brimming with mussels, shrimp and white fish, all steeping in saffron broth.

Empty black shells are pushed aside at another round mahogany table, where two friends catch up over mussels and glasses of iced tea.

A man sitting solo at a two-top finishes his meal and tells the server he will be back next week.

These are the sights and sounds of a restaurant that’s become a neighborhood lunchtime favorite less than a year after quietly opening in November 2022.

I would have never found La Chev without a tip from a colleague, but I’m glad I came. That satisfaction extends to residents of the Knightsville and Summerville area, who have thanked owner Jason Tucker for bringing his Southern take on French cuisine to them rather than downtown Charleston.

“A lot of people were confused about why I did it here,” said Tucker, a Summerville resident. “I saw the direction of where the homes are going.”

Tucker struck out on his own after cutting his professional teeth at restaurants in Charleston’s French Quarter. Inside the strip center space that previously housed a Ladles sandwich and soup shop, the Johnson & Wales University graduate is teaming up with La Chev’s chef de cuisine, Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville.

Whether it’s crab dip with grilled bread or seared scallops over French onion cheese risotto, DuPriest is consistently coming up with new daily specials that the restaurant posts on its Facebook page, which takes the place of an actual website.

La Chev boasts separate lunch and dinner menus, but there are several crossovers, including the shrimp and grits, crab croquettes and yellowfin tuna — a dish that stood out after two visits to the restaurant.

The lightly-seared tuna, served cold, rests on a steaming hot medley of chopped asparagus, corn, confit tomato and cubed bacon. A speckled cream sauce pulls the vegetables together, adding sweet smokiness to the fresh but mild fish.

“It doesn’t just play with your taste buds, it plays with the temperature sensitivities of your palate, as well,” Tucker said.

With a nice crust and firm pink center, the tuna hits all corners of my mouth, leaving soft, peppery spice behind. Though served as an appetizer, I enjoyed it as my full meal with an order of duck coq au vin dumplings — a fun riff on a French classic — on the side.

During dinner, the white tablecloths are brought out and topped with larger appetizers and mains that allow for some “Lowcountry liberties,” Tucker said.

For instance, crab croquettes are more petite crab cake than filled-and-fried roll, but the flawed descriptor doesn’t take away from each delicate bite. Paired with a light and bright diced cucumber salad, the patties’ crab-to-filler ratio favors the former.

A trio of cheese-adorned meatballs, floating in tomato ragù and served with small wedges of garlic bread, is another appetizer that satisfies without reinventing the wheel.

The same can often be said for the restaurant’s dinner entrees.

Roasted salmon, stuffed with crab and served atop crisp green beans, is one example of an expertly cooked daily special. On the side, Carolina Gold rice is bound with cheese to form a thick patty, bringing substance and salt to the Southern grains.

Steak, which appears to have been marinated and spent some time in the oven, makes up for a lack of crust with a juicy, tender texture — almost reminiscent of the roasted filet of beef my mother serves at Christmas.

Of the six dishes I sampled at La Chev, each one left me without complaints.

There isn’t much in the way of décor, more noticeable during a Monday night dinner service that saw just two occupied tables between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. This was a far cry from the crowded lunch service I witnessed weeks before, making me ponder if ownership might consider closing their doors on Monday, typically the slowest dining day of the week.

It also made me wonder if this type of restaurant — a place that skirts the line between neighborhood establishment and one worthy of a special night out — can work in this location.

I remain optimistic.

While it’s just four miles from the town’s top restaurants — Laura, Bexley and La Rustica, among others — it’s less crowded and closer to home for many Summerville restaurants.

And as those who have dined at La Chev have likely realized, there isn’t anything like it in Knightsville.

In the three years since she launched her plant-based food company, Nordic Cooking owner Louise Rakers has seen a shift in Charleston’s dining culture.

More than before the pandemic, people are paying attention to what they are putting into their bodies. This growing trend is particularly prevalent among Generation Z, those who were born after 1996 and a group that drinks 20 percent less alcohol than millennials did at their age.

Overall, Charleston residents have shown more interest in plant-based and gluten-free dining options, even if there are only a handful of restaurants dedicated to a meat-free offering.

Reaching both meat- and plant-based eaters was Rakers’ goal when she launched her Daniel Island-based business, offering cooking classes and meal kits inspired by her Danish roots. The classes had a theme: Show people how to cook the Scandinavian way, relying on fresh ingredients sourced close to home.

When she first launched the company, Rakers recalls seeing the same clients each week.

That’s changed.

With her customer base on the rise, Rakers has decided to expand the offering at Nordic Cooking.

In September, she will lead two gluten-free bread-making classes Sept. 12 and 13 at Cooper River Farms on Daniel Island (650 Enterprise Blvd.), exploring how to make bread without eggs, dairy or gluten. One week later on Sept. 20, Nordic Cooking will host a community cooking class at Blūm with room for 30 guests. Taking place monthly, the introductory plant-based gathering invites attendees to cook a meal, led by Rakers, before sharing the fruits of their labor at a long communal table.

Nordic Cooking offers more advanced classes for smaller groups at Cooper River Farms. At the next one, taking place Sept. 22, attendees will learn how to make salt-baked beetroot with cauliflower puree, ravioli in a creamy wild mushroom sauce and Danish apple cake with whipped coconut cream and cinnamon.

While both class formats aim to provide the framework for plant-based cooking, a new Nordic Cooking dinner series kicking off Sept. 28 will showcase Rakers’ range.

At the ticketed even, hosted by Helen Leland of The Bomb Co. (previously Blender Bombs), Rakes will team up with Alicia Silva Flores of Jardín Bonita to craft an eight-course Mexican inspired meal, fueled by local produce and music from acoustic guitarist Charlie Kendall. Edible flowers will factor into the meal and the tablescape, designed by Rakers, Flores and Brynn Lewis.

“Our plan is to host these Nordic Dinners monthly at a different location every time — new menu, new theme and new look,” Rakers said.

In addition to its food experiences, Nordic Cooking sells a handful of vegetarian and gluten-free goods, such as vegan butter and boards anchored by North Carolina-based Darë Vegan Cheese. Rakers’ newest product is a gluten-free bread mix, which comes in three varieties: Danish rye, focaccia and a baguette.

Simply add oil and water before placing in the oven, and you’ll have a loaf of fresh-made gluten-free bread ready to use at home.

There are always a handful of tried-and-true downtown Charleston establishments that reliably remain open during even the most severe of storms.

During Hurricane Dorian back in 2019, I forced my way against the grain along King Street, fighting blustery winds and sideways rain to discover which bars had literally weathered the storm to provide a safe and booze-fueled haven for locals.

Proof, offering a fitting $5 deal on its signature hurricane cocktail, was among them. A.C.’s Bar & Grill had the lights on and pool tables going. And, of course, the beloved Recovery Room Tavern had a bevy of patrons in hooded rain jackets on the patio, smoking cigarettes and sipping PBRs through it all.

Through Idalia, which may hit Charleston as a Category 1 hurricane, you can expect those bars to be open as long as the power stays on and booze remains in stock.

And while a variety of bars and restaurants have already closed up shop in the wake of the storm, there are plenty that are aiming to stay open.

Over on Isle of Palms, the bar that got destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 before being rebuilt, The Windjammer, likes to host ragers mid-storm. This time is no different with a hurricane party and live music planned at 3:30 p.m., “until the lights go out.”

Downtown, the Recovery Room’s sister establishments, Lucky Luchador and The Bangkok Lounge, will be open, with Lucky wishing patrons a “Happy Hurricane Humpday” and planning to still host bingo at 8, 9 and 10 p.m. and Bangkok kicking off karaoke at 6 p.m.

DORCHESTER COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - The Dorchester District 2 School Board announced who will take the helm at the three new elementary schools next school year.

Vernisa Bodison will be the principal for the new Alston-Bailey Elementary School. She is currently the principal at Windsor Hill.

Dr. Eugene Sires Elementary School will be led by Laura Blanchard who is currently the principal at William Reeves Elementary.

Dr. Wally Baird will take on the new Sand Hill Elementary School. He is at Knightsville Elementary right now.

The old schools will see some familiar faces as their new principals as some assistant principals will be stepping up in those leadership roles.

A full list of administrative teams can be found below.

Dorchester School District Two has announced the administrative teams of the three new elementary schools opening in the fall of 2016, along with other elementary school administrative changes. The following administrators were named to take the helm at the three new elementary schools beginning with 2016-2017:

Alston-Bailey Elementary School

Vernisa Bodison—Principal, is currently principal at Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary

Assistant Principal—to be announced

Dr. Eugene Sires Elementary School

Laura Blanchard—Principal, is currently principal at William M. Reeves, Jr. Elementary

Dan Farmer—Assistant Principal, is currently assistant principal at Fort Dorchester Elementary

Sand Hill Elementary School

Dr. Wally Baird—Principal, is currently principal at Knightsville Elementary

Annette Roper—Assistant Principal, is currently assistant principal at Knightsville Elementary

The following are additional administrative changes for elementary schools beginning with 2016-2017:

Knightsville Elementary School

Claire Sieber—Principal, is currently assistant principal at Knightsville Elementary

Carey Hodge—Assistant Principal (no change)

William M. Reeves, Jr. Elementary School

Natalie Hayes—Principal, is currently assistant principal at William M. Reeves, Jr. Elementary

Michelle Nicholson—Assistant Principal (no change)

Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary School

Robert Neuner—Principal, is currently assistant principal at Gregg Middle

Katie Barker—Assistant Principal (no change)

Fort Dorchester Elementary School

Harolyn Hess—Principal (no change)

Gwyn Brock—Assistant Principal (no change)

Rachel Mahaffey—Assistant Principal, is currently assistant principal at Flowertown Elementary

Copyright 2015 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE — Jennifer Klich grew up with Dorchester School District Two. She’s a product of DD2 schools and now teaches Spanish at Ashley Ridge High. All three of her children go to Beech Hill Elementary.

Throughout her time in the district, it would be impossible to not notice how much the district has grown over the years.

“There’s that huge neighborhood down Delemar Highway, and it used to feel like you’re driving out toward the middle of nowhere (to Ashley Ridge High School): ‘Oh look, there’s this random high school here in the woods,’” Klich said. “But now it’s neighborhood after neighborhood after neighborhood.”

Superintendent Shane Robbins, who is finishing up his first year overseeing the district, said DD2 has been able to predict through calculations and analytics that there will be an increase of 14,000 students from 2022 to 2032, ranging anywhere from 1,100 to 1,800 students each year for the next nine years.

With the growth, Klich is starting to worry about how the school district is managing the predicted influx of students in the coming years.

“I don’t think we’re being realistic enough about that,” Klich said. “Nobody’s even seriously talking about a new high school. There are trailers (being used as classrooms) everywhere. We’re just not taking it seriously.”

Ashley Ridge High School is the newest of the three high schools in the district, opening in 2008. Robbins noted that building a new school would take approximately three years.

The district also opened its newest school, East Edisto Middle, last fall, just in time for the 2022-23 school year.

Robbins said he and the board have talked about establishing a long-range planning committee, which would be a joint committee comprising the Dorchester County Council and the school board. He said while he understands the county has a lot on its plate already, the board will need the council’s support on any decision the board makes moving forward.

“We also want to be able to demonstrate that we are exhausting all options to be as fiscally conservative with taxpayer dollars as possible,” Robbins said.

Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward confirmed that the County Council will meet with the school board. He said the first meeting on June 27 at 12 p.m. — which will be open to the public — will be showing the board a tool the county has used to help project growth based on residential subdivision development.

There will be more joint meetings following the first one, Ward said. These will be ongoing meetings and they will be scheduled periodically.

“We know that a lot of people are attracted to the county because of the quality in the schools,” Ward said. “We don’t want to do anything that would be detrimental in terms of the schools.”

Robbins added that he and the board are also looking at short-term solutions, like bringing in mobile units to be used as classrooms and moving attendance lines, though nothing is set in stone yet. Robbins acknowledged that moving attendance lines wouldn’t make everyone happy, but he’s trying to support the needs of the district as best he can.

He echoed Ward’s assertion that part of the area’s growth is due to the school district’s reputation. According to the 2021-2022 South Carolina Annual State Report Card, DD2 increased its graduation rate to 93.3 percent. It’s the fourth consecutive year of improvement for the district.

“We want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to maintain that world-class education that we provide our families,” he said.

During the May 22 board meeting, board member Justin Farnsworth said the district has developed to the point where he didn’t know where else they would be able to find land or buy it. Robbins responded by saying there is some property set aside at Summerville development The Ponds — what Robbins considered to be the center of where a lot of the growth is happening — to build a school.

Ward confirmed Robbins’ statement, adding that the county will be following up with him to see what would best fit in that property.

The numbers Robbins showed the board at the May 22 meeting indicated that Fort Dorchester High School and River Oaks Middle School — both in North Charleston — were predicted to have a slight decrease in population, whereas every other school would experience an influx of students.

Robbins said the North Charleston school population numbers are based on how they’re zoned in the district.

“The North Charleston area that feeds into Fort Dorchester … there’s just not a lot of residential growth,” he said. “There are subdivisions that are actually in North Charleston, that are designed to go to Ashley Ridge High School.” Ashley Ridge High School is located on Delemar Highway in Summerville.

“Nobody knew what growth was going to look like 15 years ago in Dorchester County, and so now all that growth is starting to occur,” he added.

Robbins said he’s feeling optimistic about the district’s plans to manage the growth they’ll be experiencing.

“Is it going to be a challenge and a struggle? One hundred percent,” Robbins said. “But I do believe that from my perspective, from the K-12 education sector, the people in this town really care about the quality of schools that they have for their kids. And because of that, I feel very confident that our conversations are going to be productive.”

Jason Tucker reports that business is booming at the boîte known as La Cuisine du Chevalier, or La Chev, by the locals. The 40-seat restaurant, which translates to “the knight’s kitchen,” garnered rave reviews by online contributors when it opened in November at the former soup restaurant called Ladles in the Shoppes of Summerville.

It only recently held a grand opening celebration.

Tucker, who has lived in Summerville for the past 16 years, is no stranger to the restaurant business.

“My background is extremely diverse and it started back when I was 15-years’ old scooping ice cream in Central Pennsylvania,” he said.

Related content: Charleston rooftop bar, restaurant to renovate, rebrand

Over the years, Tucker has worked in numerous restaurants, from chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel and the Hilton, to groups like Charleston Hospitality and more. After bartending his way through college in Virginia, the hard-working transplant accepted a management position from his employer, which took him to Summerville, where he has been ever since.

The father of two boys is also the operating partner at Wine & Tapas in Summerville and was buoyed by the popularity of the business. This inspired him to open a new restaurant, this time with a French flair.

“They call the area the French Quarter, but it lacked a French-themed restaurant, which never made sense to me, especially with the growth we are seeing in this area,” he said.

Tucker said that La Chev was designed to evoke the feeling of walking down the Champs-Élysées.

“It’s a cute café that’s quaint and all about the food and wine,” he said.

It doesn’t hurt that Tucker worked in the wine distribution business and is well-versed on what’s exceptional. He said that his goal is to bring people in by rivaling the quality that a customer would get in downtown Charleston.

“It’s all about the ingredients and there’s a lot of precision and thought that goes into each of our dishes,” he said, adding that chef de cuisine Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville, is Johnson and Wales-trained.

When it comes to dishes, Tucker said that the most popular lunch items that they serve are the French Dip and the shrimp and grits.

“A lot of people judge the quality of the restaurant by their shrimp and grits,” he said.

As for dinner, Tucker offers quite a few specials, ranging from steak dishes, to surf and turf, scallops, crabcakes, and salmon.

“Everyone says that it’s the best salmon served in the Atlantic Coastal area,” Tucker said.

For now, La Chev is taking reservations, except for the bar and outside area, so last-minute plans to dine can be accommodated if guests don’t mind sitting in either area.

Tucker also recently announced that they will be open on Sundays for brunch.

“We’re currently working on the menu which we will implement sometime around the end of July,” he said.

Kurry Seymour was a Ladles customer who was wowed by his first visit.

“This place brings a refreshing vibe to the Knightsville area and I am impressed by the décor, which was converted into a very fine, but very cozy dining experience,” he said.

Reviews like this are music to Tucker’s ears.

“I never thought I’d be in a situation where I’d be running two separate restaurants, but I love the feeling one gets when someone is happy with an experience. Making moments special is the best feeling in the world and having the opportunity to have someone really love what you’re doing, well, it doesn’t get any better than that,” he said, with a smile.

Stefanie Kalina-Metzger is a contributing writer for SC Biz News.

The droves of people moving to the Lowcountry for the low cost of living and plentiful jobs aren’t coming alone.

Often those workers have families that include young children who will attend public schools. Of the more than 750,000 people who live in the region, about 22 percent are age 18 or younger, according to the Census Bureau.

That growth leaves school systems struggling to keep up as they strive to find funding, space and dozens of teachers to instruct those new students each year.

“Right now, we are trying to basically take inventory of what we have, and trying to find different ways to deal with the growth,” said Berkeley County Senior Associate Superintendent Deon Jackson.

In many cases, districts’ annual growth is enough to fill a new school.

This year, for instance, Berkeley planned for 800 new students, but 1,400 came.

“And Volvo hasn’t moved the first car off of their plant yet,” Jackson said of the carmaker that plans to bring 4,000 new jobs to the county and will roll out its first S60 sedan later this year. “At this rate, there is no doubt in our minds that yes, we are going to need additional schools at some point.”

Dorchester, on the other hand, got an unexpected break this year. After more than a decade of 400 to 1,000 additional students per year, only 149 new students enrolled in that district this year. Officials had planned for 600.

Predictably, the schools near new development are the most overcrowded.

Cane Bay elementary and middle schools near bustling Carnes Crossroads are currently under the biggest strain in Berkeley, and the Philip Simmons schools off Clements Ferry Road are expected to feel a pinch in coming years.

Dorchester 2’s crush is in the Knightsville area on the district’s northeast side, where Reeves Elementary and DuBose Middle share a campus.

“We have a lot of development coming that could impact those schools,” said Dorchester 2 Chief Financial Officer Allyson Duke.

Lack of funding

But those new houses don’t contribute to school districts’ operating budgets.

State law, Act 388, limits the kind of taxes a school district can levy, including a prohibition on taxing homeowner-occupied residential properties for operating expenses.

“They build all these houses, but we don’t benefit from the property taxes from them,” Duke said.

Property tax bills reflect an amount for the school operating budget that is then deducted as a credit.

“There’s still confusion,” Duke said. “A lot of people do not realize that they’re not paying school operating taxes. They see it on their tax bill and don’t look and see that school tax credit at the bottom.”

Funding for capital needs like new buildings or maintaining existing ones has to come from somewhere else, often special obligation bonds.

“What we are trying to do is make sure that we’re utilizing everything that we have to the fullest extent before we start building additional schools,” Jackson said.

Charleston County, which is also growing by about 1,000 students annually, funds its building program through a 1 percent sales tax. The district expects to collect $575 million to fund new school buildings and renovations through the tax, first approved in 2010 and renewed in 2014.

But Berkeley and Dorchester 2 have both turned to homeowners. In 2012, those districts floated “Yes 4 Schools” campaigns with an eye toward easing some of the overcrowding that existed then.

At the time, they said several schools housed hundreds more students than they could comfortably hold and students were being taught in trailers, work rooms and libraries.

Seventy percent of voters in Berkeley approved the ballot measure to fund a $198 million building program that added four new elementary schools and a high school, while Dorchester 2’s $179.9 million campaign to add three elementary schools and a magnet middle school of the arts passed by a 60-40 margin.

The measures added $102 on a $150,000 owner-occupied house in Dorchester County for 20 years. In Berkeley, homeowners paid $60 more on a $150,000 house the first three years, and are now paying $120 annually until 2023, when it goes back to $60 for another decade.

“The referendum was definitely a success,” Duke said. “If we didn’t have these new schools, I don’t know what we would have done.”

End of Yes 4 Schools

Both Berkeley and Dorchester 2 will see the end of their building campaigns this year. In August, Berkeley plans to open Bowens Corner and Foxbank elementary schools, and Dorchester 2 students will move into the new Rollings Middle School of the Arts.

The extra seats have helped some but not enough, officials said.

“We need more schools, that’s all there is to it,” said Duke.

In the 5½ years since the referendums were approved, Berkeley has grown by about 5,000 students to 35,192 this year. Dorchester has gone from 23,245 to 26,240.

“We’ve completed that building program, and the growth is still coming,” Jackson said. “We’ve made our adjustments; however, it’s still not sufficient. When you have a 900-student school opening up at 750 students, it doesn’t leave you much room, not the way that Berkeley County is growing.”

The county is outpacing even the aggressive predictions of a 2015 study by Clemson’s Strom Thurmond Institute that forecast the student population could skyrocket to 55,000 by 2035. That study called for 20 new schools in 20 years.

Moving forward

But aware that taxpayers are still putting money into the 2012 program, officials are doing everything they can to maximize space.

“We are not so certain that a referendum is the only solution,” Jackson said. “We’re working with the county government and working with our Legislature to figure out what’s the best way for Berkeley County to deal with the situation we have.”

The trailers the districts removed from schools a few years ago are now being added back. At DuBose, for instance, six additional units will be added to the 18 already there for next school year.

Dorchester is not yet talking about redrawing attendance lines — always a hot topic — but Berkeley is.

“Where do you move them? To a less overcrowded school?” said District 2 spokeswoman Pat Raynor.

Officials at both districts said they have a commitment not to increase class size, which can be a detriment to learning for students and a stress for teachers.

“Talk to just about any teacher, and they would rather have lower class sizes,” Duke said. “That’s probably more important to most of them than pay, really.”

Berkeley is looking at some unconventional ways to increase capacity, such as using a “college model” of office space or shared spaces in jam-packed high schools instead of assigning teachers to classrooms. That allows each class to be used every class period, in theory increasing capacity by 25 percent.

“We’re trying to use every resource that we have to the fullest before doing something that’s going to cause us to borrow more money,” Jackson said.

Although they aren’t ruling out future referendums, both are aware that they may not get taxpayer support.

“We’re taking a collaborative approach because we are coming out of a building program that drew a lot of attention,” Jackson said. “We are definitely cognizant of that.”

Opposition to Berkeley’s referendum led to a State Law Enforcement Division investigation and guilty pleas on ethics charges from former Superintendent Rodney Thompson and Communcations Director Amy Kovach.

In addition, in the aftermath of the investigation, authorities uncovered a scheme by former Chief Financial Officer Brantley Thomas to embezzle nearly $1 million from the district and shuffle money between accounts to cover up construction cost overruns of about $7.2 million.

Dorchester 2 was also sued over its referendum. In March 2017, Summerville lawyer Mike Rose filed a lawsuit claiming that the district broke state law and its own rules during the building campaign, leading to cost overruns, delays in opening new schools and shoddy work. That lawsuit is ongoing.