Welcome Compass!
We’re thrilled you’re here! My team and I wanted to offer a few recs while visiting so you can make your most of your time in Charleston. The below is intended to help you efficiently explore between all that’s going on at the retreat!
If you want even more, please feel free to download our guide for downtown. It’s full of restaurants, coffee shops and more from a locals perspective (yes the below links are clickable).
Highlight Places to Go
Coffee: Babas on Canon, Kudu Coffee (great courtyard), Sorelle Espresso Bar, Harken Cafe (historic vibes)
Breakfast: Millers All Day (go early!), Bodega (BECs & Cold Brew), Queen St Grocery (Dive/Classic)
Lunch: 167 Raw (No Res, but worth), Xiao Bao Biscuit (funky fusion), Lowland (historic vibes), HomeTeam BBQ
Dinner: Verns (Cozy Neighborhood Spot), Halls ChopHouse (Proper Steakhouse), Zero, Marbled & Fin
Drinks: Cocktail Club, Vintage, The Living Room @ Dewberry, The Griffon (British Pub)
(More options in the above Guide)
Exploring Downtown Charleston
Walking Tour: Center City Charleston (stroll nearby Highlights)
This tour will take you roughly 1.5 hours (walking), but highlights much of what you’ll see in postcards
Photo Worthy Stops: White Point Garden (The Battery), Colonial Lake, Hampton Park, Rainbow Row
Much of the above tour will take you past these locations, but we highly recommend getting lost in any of these areas. You won’t be disappointed!
Modes of Transit: Pedi-Cabs (they won’t be far by evening), Uber/Lyft or just walk (you will need to drive anywhere off peninsula or above the Crosstown)!
Who’s Telling You All This?!
Hey! I’m Gentry Todd Radwanski. While my team is new to Compass, we aren’t new to Charleston.
I’ve spent my career exploring every pocket of town as it's grown, changed and in some cases remained perfectly the same.
I would love to connect with each of you, but in case I don’t please feel free to connect with Emma or I before, during or well after your stay!
Cheers, GT
Other Fun Facts About Charleston…
History Founded in 1670 by English settlers and named after King Charles II. Charleston was the site of the first shots of the American Civil War in 1861, and served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for two years.
Firsts Charleston was home to the first public college, museum, and playhouse in the U.S., and the first golf club in America was established there in 1787.
Barbecue South Carolina is known as "The Birthplace of Barbecue". The roots of barbecue can be traced back to the 1500s, when Spanish explorers brought pigs to the New World and Native Americans taught them how to cook the whole pig over low heat. Take that Texas!
Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality in Charleston. In the past, sea captains would stick a pineapple outside their homes to announce their arrival and invite people to hear their stories.
For More Info, Our Friends at the Charleston Visitors Bureau have it all!
A Note as You Go…
We hope this helps in exploring!
While I would love to meet all of you while in town, recognize that may be a tall task. However, my hope is you each get a little bit of value from the above to help make your stay a bit more enjoyable.
Charleston offers a ton and while most of you will be staying and exploring downtown, what we affectionately refer to as ‘the low-country’ extends far beyond.
Should you desire to explore off peninsula or are extending your stay before/after the retreat, I would highly recommend catching a beachside sunrise/sunset at Folly, Sullivans or Isle of Palms.
The cheesiest thing I share with all of our clients is ‘There’s a Version of this Town for everyone, it’s just a matter of finding yours’. Don’t like our historic downtown and delicious food scene? Cool. Let me take you to a sleepy pocket of the world like Wadmalaw where you can fish off a dock and see neighbors only if you want to. That sound too slow? There’s neighborhoods focused on golf, boating, family life and so much more…
So if you’re going beyond downtown…
Naturally we have more than just the above guide to explore those areas as well.
Enjoy Your Stay!
If you made it this far, thank you! We would love to be your preferred Compass agent in the future and your clients keys to Charleston!
