AC Repair in James Island, SC

Updated: Jan. 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM PST

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - After a budget setback in 2024 delayed the project, the Charleton County Finance Committee is expected to award a contract for work to build sidewalks and a crosswalk at Woodland Shores Road and Maybank Highway on James Island.

People living in the area say they have been petitioning leaders for pedestrian improvements for years. Adam Friend founded a neighborhood association that focuses on improvement projects and recently, the group celebrated adding speed humps to Woodland Shores Road.

The ‘Complete Streets’ project plans to put that 8-foot sidewalk along Woodland Shores Drive, onto Maybank Highway to Stefan Drive, and add a midblock crossing of Maybank near Stefan Drive at Terrace Plaza. The work will include a median, pavement marking and drainage as well.

“For it to be 2025 and we’re finally seeing that a bid is being endorsed and going to be signed off on tonight with Gulf Stream is surreal, I guess would be the best word. I’m excited yes, but I’m going to hold out until I see they’re actually breaking ground before I believe this is really happening, but it looks certainly to be coming to fruition which should really help the safety of a lot of us who live on Woodland Shores Road,” Friend says.

County Council is expected to award a more than $3.6 million contract with Gulf Stream construction. Woodland Shores Road catapulted into the public eye after a 2023 hit and run that left Jen Drummond seriously injured. Her neighbors renewed a push for sidewalks, something they say they had wanted for some time. Their efforts have also achieved adding speed bumps since the incident.

“We’d hoped we could have avoided something tragic prior to having this come to fruition, but we fought really hard as a neighborhood. I started this Woodland Shores commission and I think it’s been a really strong grassroots mission, of people just refusing to take no,” Friend says.

Funding is both federal and local for the multi-million dollar project. There is not a set construction start date, but the work is expected to have at least a nine-month timeline once shovels are in the ground. Friend says it’s not perfect since it’s only one side of the road, and the opposite side of their mailboxes for some, but he thanks the local and state leaders who worked on achieving it.

“People have become very ‘Doubting Thomases’ I guess and don’t think it’s really going to happen, so I think we will all be really happy when we see the work in progress,” Friend says.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

More often than not, tipsters, readers, friends, and family of Eater have one question: Where should I eat right now? What are the new restaurants? What's everyone talking about? While the Eater 18 is a crucial resource covering old standbys and neighborhood essentials across the city, it is not a chronicle of the "it" places of the moment. Enter the Eater Heatmap, which will change continually to highlight the spots crowds are flocking to at the moment or generating a big buzz. Folks are asking, "Have you been yet?" Try one of these newbies today.

New to the list:

December: Blanca EstradaNovember 2024: Legami, Chef Loong Dim SumOctober 2024: Linnette’s September 2024: the Archer August 2024: the SelectJuly 2024: Marbled & Fin, MakanJune 2024: Downtown Co-OpMay 2024: Sissy Bar, CoterieApril 2024: Da Toscano Fugazzi, XO Brasserie March 2024: Bodega Mount PleasantFebruary 2024: Cleats, Lowland Dining Room, Palmira BarbecueJanuary 2024: the Harlow, Da Toscano Porchetta ShopDecember 2023: the Quinte, Lowland Tavern, Lost Isle, Costa, BearcatNovember 2023: King BBQOctober 2023: Honeysuckle Rose

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

The team from downtown bar Dalila’s opened a fun new spot in Park Circle. Sissy Bar takes inspiration from Southern California, from mezcal drinks to breakfast burritos to a massive barbacoa taco platter. Bring friends to sample all the sharable plates.

Slow-cooked brisket and whole hog meet Puerto Rican flavors at Palmira Barbecue. Pitmaster Hector Garate has been popping up around the Lowcountry for several years, but now he has a permanent address in West Ashley.

The crew from hip breakfast spot Daps opened a sports bar with better food and drinks found at typical sports bars. Find pit beef sandwiches, Thai-flavored hot dogs, green hatch chili wings, and waffle fries.

Herman Ng grew up working in his family’s Chinese restaurant, and now he owns his own with the opening of XO Brasserie. The menu focuses on Cantonese and Sichuan cooking, including XO lobster, mapo tofu, and garlic pepper beef. Don’t miss the fun cocktails or the desserts.

The couple behind Wagener Terrace hangout Berkeley’s recently opened their second restaurant, the Archer. They want it to have the same neighborhood vibes but raise the stakes with a full bar and fine dining-level comfort plates. Chef Paul Farmer (formerly of Three Sirens), puts out plates like duck frites, baked oysters, beef stroganoff, chicken liver mousse, and chilled crab dip.

Legami is a new Italian restaurant boasting a chef brought in from Rome by a family with roots in Turin, Italy. Washington Street Hospitality, which controls three Pasta Beach restaurants in New England, thought the King Street building would be another location for Pasta Beach, but decided to switch it up once they got into the historic building. Chef Andrea Congiusta cooks modern Italian fare with some influences from France. “We took inspiration from the classic fine dining, but we also want to have something fun, something that looks very fancy, and something you can crave,” says Congiusta. Dishes include king crab tagliolini, beef Wellington, and veal Milanese.

Modern steakhouse Marbled & Fin is giving all the other steakhouses a run for their money. The expansive dining room fills nightly with well-heeled customers ready to see and be seen. On the menu, chef Eucepe “Cepe” Puntriano includes all the steakhouse classics plus an emphasis on seafood dishes for non-meat eaters. Look for seafood towers, wedge salads, wagyu beef, bone marrow with oysters, creamed spinach, and more.

D.C.-based Malaysian restaurant Makan now has a second location in the Lowcountry. Chef James Wozniuk wanted the South Carolina location to feature local seafood. The ikan asam pedas, a Malaysian hot and sour fish curry, is a must-try if you like spice. There’s also rendand daging (dry beef curry), curry mee (noodle soup with chicken sausage), and kerabu mangga (mango salad).

Charleston is going crazy for soup dumplings, and newcomer Chef Loong Dim Sum delivers. The restaurant offers four flavors (pork soup, chicken soup, pork tomato soup, and truffle pork soup). The rest of the menu is quite extensive as well, with selections ranging from Sichuan mala chicken, crab rangoon, dan dan noodles, mapo tofu, and more.

The team behind Italian favorite Le Farfalle has an enticing new cafe in Charleston. The focus of Da Toscano Porchetta Shop is the housemade focaccia and everything that can be sandwiched between the airy bread. Chef Michael Toscano serves a filling chorizo and egg sandwich in the morning and a sumptuous porchetta sandwich in the afternoon. There’s also choices like prime rib, roast chicken, marinated eggplant, and so much more.

Chef Micheal Toscano recently opened a taco shop next to his Italian restaurant Le Farfalle. Blanca Estrada is Toscano’s ode to his Mexican mother and grandmother, whose cooking was an early influence on his culinary journey. The kitchen offers a selection of tacos, from cochinita pibil to lengua, several specials, like a lamb neck burrito, and several tequila drinks and pineapple vinegar soda.

Charming new hotel the Dunlin offers sweeping views of the Kiawah River, abundant hospitality, and coastal Southern fare in its signature restaurant, Linnette’s. Chef Michael DeCicco puts out dishes like a pressed and pickled watermelon salad, wood-fired oysters, cornmeal-crusted flounder, and a sorghum-benne lacquered steak with charred okra.

The team from downtown bar Dalila’s opened a fun new spot in Park Circle. Sissy Bar takes inspiration from Southern California, from mezcal drinks to breakfast burritos to a massive barbacoa taco platter. Bring friends to sample all the sharable plates.

Slow-cooked brisket and whole hog meet Puerto Rican flavors at Palmira Barbecue. Pitmaster Hector Garate has been popping up around the Lowcountry for several years, but now he has a permanent address in West Ashley.

The crew from hip breakfast spot Daps opened a sports bar with better food and drinks found at typical sports bars. Find pit beef sandwiches, Thai-flavored hot dogs, green hatch chili wings, and waffle fries.

Herman Ng grew up working in his family’s Chinese restaurant, and now he owns his own with the opening of XO Brasserie. The menu focuses on Cantonese and Sichuan cooking, including XO lobster, mapo tofu, and garlic pepper beef. Don’t miss the fun cocktails or the desserts.

The couple behind Wagener Terrace hangout Berkeley’s recently opened their second restaurant, the Archer. They want it to have the same neighborhood vibes but raise the stakes with a full bar and fine dining-level comfort plates. Chef Paul Farmer (formerly of Three Sirens), puts out plates like duck frites, baked oysters, beef stroganoff, chicken liver mousse, and chilled crab dip.

Legami is a new Italian restaurant boasting a chef brought in from Rome by a family with roots in Turin, Italy. Washington Street Hospitality, which controls three Pasta Beach restaurants in New England, thought the King Street building would be another location for Pasta Beach, but decided to switch it up once they got into the historic building. Chef Andrea Congiusta cooks modern Italian fare with some influences from France. “We took inspiration from the classic fine dining, but we also want to have something fun, something that looks very fancy, and something you can crave,” says Congiusta. Dishes include king crab tagliolini, beef Wellington, and veal Milanese.

Modern steakhouse Marbled & Fin is giving all the other steakhouses a run for their money. The expansive dining room fills nightly with well-heeled customers ready to see and be seen. On the menu, chef Eucepe “Cepe” Puntriano includes all the steakhouse classics plus an emphasis on seafood dishes for non-meat eaters. Look for seafood towers, wedge salads, wagyu beef, bone marrow with oysters, creamed spinach, and more.

D.C.-based Malaysian restaurant Makan now has a second location in the Lowcountry. Chef James Wozniuk wanted the South Carolina location to feature local seafood. The ikan asam pedas, a Malaysian hot and sour fish curry, is a must-try if you like spice. There’s also rendand daging (dry beef curry), curry mee (noodle soup with chicken sausage), and kerabu mangga (mango salad).

Charleston is going crazy for soup dumplings, and newcomer Chef Loong Dim Sum delivers. The restaurant offers four flavors (pork soup, chicken soup, pork tomato soup, and truffle pork soup). The rest of the menu is quite extensive as well, with selections ranging from Sichuan mala chicken, crab rangoon, dan dan noodles, mapo tofu, and more.

The team behind Italian favorite Le Farfalle has an enticing new cafe in Charleston. The focus of Da Toscano Porchetta Shop is the housemade focaccia and everything that can be sandwiched between the airy bread. Chef Michael Toscano serves a filling chorizo and egg sandwich in the morning and a sumptuous porchetta sandwich in the afternoon. There’s also choices like prime rib, roast chicken, marinated eggplant, and so much more.

Chef Micheal Toscano recently opened a taco shop next to his Italian restaurant Le Farfalle. Blanca Estrada is Toscano’s ode to his Mexican mother and grandmother, whose cooking was an early influence on his culinary journey. The kitchen offers a selection of tacos, from cochinita pibil to lengua, several specials, like a lamb neck burrito, and several tequila drinks and pineapple vinegar soda.

Charming new hotel the Dunlin offers sweeping views of the Kiawah River, abundant hospitality, and coastal Southern fare in its signature restaurant, Linnette’s. Chef Michael DeCicco puts out dishes like a pressed and pickled watermelon salad, wood-fired oysters, cornmeal-crusted flounder, and a sorghum-benne lacquered steak with charred okra.

|Updated: Dec. 3, 2024 at 6:33 PM EST

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Town of James Island plans to build a brand-new Arts and Cultural Center in the future, and town leaders want to know your vision for it.

Town officials invite you to a public input meeting next week as an opportunity to share your ideas for the new facility.

Mayor Brook Lyon said the design plan is still in the very beginning stages, but your input still matters.

“Everyone has ownership in it so everyone has a stake in it, so everyone feels a part of it and so it meets the needs of the majority of the people that will be using it and enjoying it,” she said.

Lyon said prior to this plan, the town didn’t have a dedicated arts and cultural building, so they leased the old library building from Charleston County for the past four years.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity, but the space, the building itself needs a new roof and some repairs, and it’s a large expense to put into a building we don’t own. Council decided because of the expensive repairs as well as issues with parking, it would be prudent to move operations to town hall temporarily, close the current art center temporarily, move the operations to town hall, and then we’re moving forward with plans to build a new art center,” she said.

Lyon said the old library sufficed for the time being but doesn’t make sense financially to continue using it long term.

“It would not be financially prudent to put town money into that much money into a building we don’t own. And there were some stipulations on the parking. The parking lot is privately owned, and that was another issue that we felt like if we move our own art center over here, we have all the parking we need. We own the building, so it makes sense to put town money into a building that we own,” she said.

Lyon said this is the perfect opportunity for you to tell those in charge what your priorities are before any final plans are made.

We’ll have a survey for people to fill out. They can ask questions. I hope to have a slide presentation of the state-of-the-art center that I hope that we can mirror some of those qualities and meet the needs of the citizens that are interested in this wonderful opportunity,” she said.

According to a press release, the town council voted on Nov. 21 to move forward with plans for the new center: “Despite not owning the building, town taxpayers would have been responsible for these repair costs of $250,000 to $400,000 under the lease agreement, along with significantly higher parking costs for even a limited number of spaces at the site.”

The town plans on having more feedback sessions throughout the planning and design process.

“A lot of it is going to depend on what the community wants and what type of building we end up looking at constructing. I don’t have a direct answer for you yet. More will be revealed very soon, but hopefully, we’ll get the best for our dollar and have a great space,” Lyon said.

The new arts center will sit just feet away from the town hall, on the Town’s Hillman Lot.

The public input meeting will be held in the Town Hall Council Chamber on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.

Lyon said current Arts and Cultural Center programming hasn’t stopped and will continue at James Island Town Hall for now.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.