Jason Stanhope has spent the last 17 months establishing a strong culinary identity at Lowland in Charleston.

The restaurant inside The Pinch boutique hotel, where he was hired to be executive chef in September 2023, went through multiple menu iterations after it debuted two months later.

Eventually, Stanhope found a way to fit his style of cooking, which he honed over 15 years at FIG, into Lowland's three-story former private residence that dates to 1834. Several favorites have emerged, from his fresh pasta, biscuits and crispy quail to a delightful celery salad with dates, walnuts and long shavings of Prairie Breeze cheddar.

The chef, who won a James Beard Award while working under Mike Lata at FIG, had found a new home at Lowland. But he's about to start a job at different restaurant in the Charleston area.

He wasn’t looking for another venture, but the right opportunity — one that enabled him to be a part-owner for the first time in his career — is pulling him away from the George Street restaurant and out to a familiar destination on Sullivan’s Island.

“I feel like I’m leaving while the party is just getting good,” Stanhope said. “The concept has come a long way since day one.”

Stanhope said Lowland is in a strong position with its current team. Randall Cook, CEO and co-founder of Lowland operator Method Co., echoed that sentiment.

"Chef Jason Stanhope has been instrumental in making Lowland into the incredible place it is today — a cherished neighborhood establishment as well as a nationally acclaimed restaurant," Cook said in a statement. "We deeply appreciate his leadership and the passionate and talented team — both in the kitchen and the front of the house — that he has cultivated and who are ready to usher Lowland into its exciting next chapter."

In the coming months, Stanhope will transition into his new role as executive chef and partner at Sullivan’s Seafood & Bar, originally opened as Sullivan’s Fish Camp in 2022. Current operators Ben and Kate Towill — who transformed the former island staple Sullivan’s Seafood Restaurant into a breezy establishment with a 1970s-inspired beachside aesthetic — are no longer involved in the restaurant.

Sullivan’s is owned by Wes and Betsy Fuller, Jeremy Graves and, now, Stanhope.

“Renovating Sullivan’s was such a privilege for us, and Kate and I are thrilled that Jeremy and Jason are taking it over and on to its next chapter,” Ben Towill said in a statement. “I know Jason shares our deep love and respect for Charleston’s incredible farmers and fishermen, and we cannot wait to come back with our family as guests.”

Stanhope consulted with Lata, owner of FIG and The Ordinary, and well-known chefs like Ashley Christensen and Pat Martin, before making the decision.

The 2015 James Beard Award winner realized that the Sullivan’s Island establishment gave him a sense of place and framework for cooking the kind of locally inspired food he’s passionate about. He also envisions his kids, 4 and 7, growing up with the restaurant.

“This felt like an opportunity for me to truly be in control of my own destiny,” Stanhope said.

The restaurant will transition back to its fish camp roots, Stanhope said, though he anticipates upcoming shifts to happen gradually. He eventually envisions a place where guests can order a basket of expertly fried fish next to light, bright plates filled with local vegetables.

“I’m excited to do some fish camp classics,” Stanhope said. “But I’m also excited to take what people think a fish camp is and show them that it can evolve, like everything.”

As for the restaurant’s ambiance and décor, patrons can expect little to change under Stanhope’s watch. The chef credited the Towills with building “an amazing dining room” with a functional and visually appealing design.

Sullivan’s Island diners can look forward to seeing Stanhope roam that bright dining room starting this spring.

Sullivan’s Fish Camp will continue to operate as it has during the transition. For more information, visit sullivansseafoodandbar.com.

A Victorian tale of revenge comes to life from March 12-15 at the Battery Gadsden Cultural Center on Sullivan's Island, as the Holy City Arts & Lyric group (HALO) promises to deliver an evocative and enduring performance.

The Stephen Sondheim score will feature a 22-piece on-stage orchestra in this portrayal of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The story revolves around an exiled barber thirsting with vengeance against those who have crossed him, according to HALO Artistic Director Dimitri Pittas.

In describing what to expect from this four-night production, Pittas explained that most people would commonly refer to it as your classic musical and/or Broadway show.

"And that's the thing with HALO, we don't put ourselves in boxes. You know, we will do La Traviata or Rigoletto in the fall and follow it up with something like Steven Sondheim. It's the same art form; it's just a different period in which it's being presented. The Italian word for opera (opera d'arte) is really just a work of art," said the New York City-born tenor.

What's more, buying a ticket to a HALO event means being an active participant in the theatrical showcase. Spectators, continued Pittas, are encouraged to interact with the on-stage talent through much of every performance.

Since 2019, Pittas and his wife Leah Edwards — an opera singer and pianist — have operated HALO in response to an intense clamoring for live stage entertainment in the Charleston metro area. As an Italian tenor who had galivanted the entire world over two decades, Pittas had no plans to launch his own performance company.

But as fate would have it, Pittas and Edwards fell in love with Charleston, also known as the birthplace of opera in North America. The Holy City, in fact, was the setting for the premiere of Flora in 1735.

Upon relocating from the Big Apple in 2015, the husband-wife duo quickly caught on to Charleston's connection to opera and musical theater.

HALO's September 2019 debut, however, hit a setback — much like many other businesses — only months later with nationwide COVID lockdowns going into effect in March of 2020. But about a month or two into the early stages of the pandemic, the artistic couple began staging concerts from their driveway with music playing from a pickup truck.

"That basically like was the phoenix rising out of the ashes for our organization because everything got turned upside down. We ended up doing 100 concerts between April and November that year."

Since then, HALO has gone on to produce large-scale productions annually at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park or at Battery Gadsden, among other Lowcountry venues.

Being a nonprofit, recounted Pittas, and the challenges it presents in terms of raising money, has been a rewarding experience for the well-traveled entertainer. On that note, the peripatetic opera singer commutes three days week to New York City to serve as a member of the voice faculty at the Manhattan School of Music.

One of the greatest joys Pittas derives from assembling a cast is watching talented individuals of varying experience levels collaborating seamlessly before a live crowd.

"There are artists who come down from New York, that come from all over the world. And the great thing that we do is we put them on stage with people who are looking for those opportunities in Charleston," he observed. "That's great because at the end of the day, it's all about creating a level of art we aspire to."

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.holycityarts.org. To stay up to date with HALO happenings and to find out how you can be involved, sign up to receive the newsletter. For individual and corporate sponsorship opportunities, please call the office at (843) 388-3243.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - After around eight months of closure, the Edgar Allan Poe Library on Sullivan’s Island will officially reopen Tuesday morning with a brand-new look.

The library has been closed for renovations as part of the $108.5 million referendum project passed by Charleston County voters back in 2014 to build five new libraries and renovate all existing branches. This library is the last branch to be renovated before work begins on the Main Library in downtown Charleston.

The renovations to the Edgar Allan Poe Library include refurbished bathrooms with new flooring, all new paint and furniture and upgraded IT systems.

The building has been around for almost 120 years, so it was in definite need of a refresh.

As part of the renovations, the library was completely rewired with all new outlets, so library leaders say they are excited that there will no longer be any dead zones in the library and the Wi-Fi will reach every corner.

The branch manager for the library, Delores Schweitzer, says they have also given their collection a complete refresh, so patrons can expect to see a lot of brand-new books.

The library was named after Edgar Allan Poe who was stationed on Sullivan’s Island with the U.S. Army in the 1800s.

Schweitzer says she can’t wait to continue sharing the fun stories and history of the library.

“I think what I’m most excited about is to see our patrons and our visitors again. We get so many people that come in and wander into our building because they just are really intrigued by the building, or they see that it’s got Edgar Allan Poe on it and they know that there’s a story there and we are a place of stories,” she says. “This building itself being as old as it is, it has lots of stories to tell and we get to share those here so that makes it really fun.”

For Schweitzer, it means the world to her that county taxpayers have chosen the libraries as a priority, as the libraries offer so many things beyond books.

The libraries include all kinds of technology and resources and programs for county residents to enjoy. She says she loves to see people enjoy the new, refurbished libraries.

“I think it is just the delight in the faces of the people from the county that come in and they see refreshed spaces, better functionality, excited staff who are happy to share programs and services with them and they’re able to do that easier now because of the investment that the county taxpayers have made for us. It’s been phenomenal to see that kind of excitement in libraries that they just, you know, buzz with energy when you go into any of our libraries,” Schweitzer says.

Schweitzer says she has missed being in the library after it was closed for such a long period of time. She is eager to open it back up and to continue engaging with the community. She says she can’t wait for everyone to see all the new parts of the library that they can enjoy.

“I think you know a lot of our programs that we run here, like our memoir and poetry groups and our book clubs and all they celebrate stories and so we get a chance to share stories with people but also engage and hear their own and so that’s one of the things I’m really excited [about]. I’ve missed that a lot in the last several months not being able to do that. So, I’m glad to be back for it,” she says.

The grand reopening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the renovated Edgar Allan Poe Sullivan’s Island Library will take place at the library’s location, 1921 Ion Avenue, Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Speakers from Charleston County government, elected officials and the library will all be in attendance to honor the grand reopening with a special guest appearance from Owlbert, the library mascot.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The clear float of a Man-o-war jellyfish rests on the sand after it was left stranded high and dry by the high tide. (Photo: National Park Service/Nathaniel Pinson)

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LOWCOUNTRY, S.C. (WCIV) — If you've been for a stroll along some Lowcountry beaches in recent weeks, you may have come across a few jellyfish washed up on shore. Most of the jellyfish you see in South Carolina are harmless, but some should be left alone.

Officials with the Lowcountry's local beach communities want locals and visitors alike to know what to look out for when heading out into the ocean.

The Charleston area starts to see a larger amount of Cannonball jellyfish in the spring, which are the most common jelly in South Carolina -and least venomous.

“Cannonballs are largely harmless to humans and they're a favorite food of leatherback sea turtles," Erin Weeks with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources explained. "Typically, when cannonballs appear, we know leatherbacks are not far behind. Like other jellies, cannonballs are poor swimmers that follow where ocean currents push them; thus, they often wash ashore, especially after offshore storms.”

READ MORE | "South Carolina Aquarium brings Octonauts to life in educational family event"

Jellyfish glide through the currents and end up washing up on shore. Some are more notorious than others.

Portuguese man o’ wars look like jellyfish, but they are actually just a relative, are bit more complex, and can be more harmful.

“Portuguese man o' wars are less frequently seen in the warmer months but merit greater caution," Weeks said. "These animals are easily distinguished by a bright blue, inflated 'float' that rests on the surface of the water, and they should be avoided both on the beach and in the water. Man o' wars can trail long tentacles that cause a very painful sting.”

Man o' wars tend to drift through the Gulf Stream up to the waters off the coast of the Palmetto State.

To prevent getting stung, avoid touching washed up Man o’ wars, as they are still venomous. If you are stung seek medical help immediately.

For more information on jellyfish from the SCDNR, click here.

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Officials said reporting sightings of jellyfish help prevent stings. To report a jellyfish sighting contact the Folly Beach Fire Department at 843-588-2433 on Folly Beach, the Sullivan's Island Fire Department at 843-883-9944 on Sullivan's Island, or the Isle of Palms Fire Department at 843-886-4410 on Isle of Palms.