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VOLUME 18 ISSUE 14
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OCTOBER 4, 2024
The Take on Giving
KIAWAH ISLAND TOWN COUNCIL ADDRESSES ETHICS OF GIFTS BY THERESA STRATFORD For The Island Connection
P
erhaps you have been wanting to thank a Kiawah Island Town Council Member with tickets to the Charleston Symphony Orchestra after a vote went your way in a recent meeting. Or perhaps there is a Town employee who has gone above and beyond in helping you in a challenging municipal matter, and you want to show your appreciation with a gift card to a local restaurant. But while giving gifts is a natural way to express appreciation and gratitude, you’ll have to save those gifts for friends and family and send your Kiawah Island Town representatives and employees a thank-you note instead. The issue of Town employees and representatives receiving gifts, no matter how large or small, came up at the recent Kiawah Island Town Council meeting on September 10. The general consensus was that Town employees and representatives should not accept gifts from constituents, whether the gift comes in the form of money or as a physical gift, such as tickets or gift cards. However, that consensus didn’t (continued on page 2) come without a robust discussion
Kiawah Seeks to Bring Equity to Beach Operations
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOST ISLE
(left) Whipped ricotta is served with charred tomato, herb oil, chili honey and focaccia bread. (right) Oysters are topped with smoked breadcrumbs. PHOTOS: ELISE DEVOE/@COOKINWITHBOOZE INSTAGRAM
J O H N S I S L A N D R E S TA U R A N T L A N D S O N N E W Y O R K T I M E S ‘ 5 0 FAV O R I T E P L A C E S I N A M E R I C A’
BY THERESA STRATFORD For The Island Connection
T
he Town of Kiawah Island took the opportunity to bring some equity into how beach operations function at the Town Council meeting on September 10. But for now, they are going to table the discussion for another time. The beach operation in question was East Beach Club, which, as Mayor Bradley Belt put it, has been engaging in certain activities for a “long time” without formal permission from the Town. Council Member Michael Heidingsfelder, whose last meeting was on September 10 before he resigned, brought the issue to Council intentionally to bring some equality among the Island’s various beach operations. Right now, the Town gives permission for beach operations to: • Drive vehicles on the beach; • Store beach equipment overnight on the beach; • Perform commercial activities on the beach with a license from the Town. Belt said, “Town permission is required to engage in any of those activities. The purpose of this agreement is to (continued on page 2) bring these issues into alignment
Visit us
BY JENNY PETERSON For The Island Connection
I
t’s no surprise that with a world-class culinary scene, a Charleston-area restaurant would land on a prestigious national list of places to eat. However, it was a surprise that some of the highest props from the New York Times went to a local, outdoor-only rustic restaurant on Johns Island, not even one year old. Lost Isle, situated in a backyard oasis behind a little white house on Maybank Highway, just earned elite status landing on “The Restaurant List 2024” as one of “50 favorite places in America right now.” “There’s a party going on behind a tattered ranch house outside Charleston: a cluster of tables under swoops of sailcloth and some improbablelooking outdoor chandeliers, where the entire menu is cooked just a few feet away over open fires of white oak,” says writer Patrick Farrell. Chef Josh Taylor said that while the Lost Isle team knew that the national publication’s writers
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had dined at the restaurant, the reveal that they were among the top 50 favorite places was a surprise. “They did reach out for pictures and to ask a few questions, but no, we did not know we were going to be on that list,” Taylor said. The restaurant declared the accolade “a marvel to be celebrated.” Billing itself as “Johns Island’s newest and first fire-to-table restaurant and bar,” the menu features a grilled item in every order, from a charred eggplant dip to fire-roasted olives served with grilled bread to fire-roasted clams from Georgia, Taylor’s home state. The menu is broken up into small plates, mains and shareable sides. “We do change some things up on the menu seasonally, [but] the grilled chicken and ribeye are consistently the most ordered items,” Taylor said. In addition to the unique (continued on page 2) dining environment—all
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