Austen Kroll and Craig Conover are ready to open their "neighborhood tavern," By the Way, on Charleston’s bustling King Street. After showing fans the bar’s renovation process and a little of the food menu, the Southern Charm cast members are announcing a target opening date.
"[Our] restaurant [is] opening mid-December," Austen exclusively shared with The Daily Dish in a December 5 interview, noting they will have a friends and family event on December 11. "We don't [reveal] an opening date because we have to get through friends and family, and if all goes smoothly, which we're expecting that it will, then very, very shortly."
In a separate interview, Craig also confirmed the mid-December target, affirming that "everything's in place" to move forward.
Craig Conover Teases the Design of His New Bar, By the Way
"We're stress-testing the kitchen and our staff now, and it looks like a bar from the West Village," the Sewing Down South CEO shared. "We have a great design firm that did it, that did a couple of bars that people would know in New York City. And I think Charleston needs it."
Craig, who is also an investor (with Austen) in New York City's Carriage House, added that the aesthetics of the place even reflect where he currently is in life. "There's nowhere for me to go after dinner, really that's not like a very intense nightlife. So this will be very chill," he said. "Your body will be moving from the music, but you can hear each other talk. It's going to be neat. I was in there the other day and could really feel the vibe. We've got a huge skylight in [...] so, excited for everyone to see that."
Another plus? By the Way is just "two blocks" from Sewing Down South. "It'll be fun," Craig concluded.
Austen Kroll Details the Food and Drinks at By the Way
Over the summer, Austen and Craig shared a few details about the scrumptious food menu they had in store for By the Way. During our recent interview, Austen shared even more details, making our mouths water.
"I'm a sucker for deviled eggs, and we have a delicious truffle deviled egg," he began, adding that they have a "duck confit sandwich" with a "very crispy baguette" on the menu.
"I ate one yesterday and it was fantastic," he shared.
"Drink-wise, we have a cocktail menu," Austen continued, sharing the inspiration behind one of his favorite menu choices.
"Recently, I went on a trip and went to this spot and they had a bunch of martinis," he said. "A bunch of different ones to choose from and a bunch of different ways to make a martini and then what you could do is you could add caviar [...] so we have added that option to our menu. We want to introduce caviar at this spot so that it doesn't have to be a white tablecloth or white glove service to eat caviar."
"You order a martini and you get a sidecar caviar for an extra eight bucks and I just think that that is fun," Austen added, sharing how the experience of it all also influenced how they crafted the menu. "People wanna come in and try it and take a picture and tag us and that's one of those things that will make the whole experience fun."
— reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
