Corporate law attorney in Hilton Head Island, SC.

Hilton Head Restaurant Week, an annual event that gives local eateries a boost during the post-holiday lull, is back this month.

More than 80 restaurants in Bluffton and Hilton Head are expected to participate in this year’s event, scheduled for Jan. 31 to Feb. 7, according to the Hilton Head Island and Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. Restaurants traditionally offer prix-fixe menus, so patrons can enjoy a taste of what the area has to offer for a less-than-usual price.

With so many options, it can be a little confusing to know where to start. In no particular order, here are the 10 best Restaurant Week deals at eateries in and around Hilton Head as of Jan. 5.

Crab galore for $38 at Carolina Crab Company

Carolina Crab Company in Palmetto Bay Marina is offering a prix-fixe menu for $38 — and, to no one’s surprise, crab is prominently featured.

Crab cakes and crab-stuffed tiger shrimp are featured entrées, and poblano crab queso, crab salad crostini and crab and chorizo chowder are possible appetizers. But non-crab lovers also have some options, like red wine pear salad to start and short ribs or blackened shrimp and scallops for an entrée.

Dessert offerings include brownie sundaes, key lime pie and blueberry bread pudding.

All-you-can-eat meats at Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse for $42.50

Sixteen “prime” meats. Thirty fresh salads. Six hot dishes. Endless portions. Kids under five eat free, kids ages six-12 pay their age and adults pay $42.50 per person.

That’s how Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse at 1000 William Hilton Parkway in the Village at Wexford is advertising its Restaurant Week deal. Who can argue with that?

Three courses for $25 at Fish Casual Coastal Seafood

An entrée at this Coligny Plaza restaurant can cost up to $36. But during Restaurant Week, patrons can get an appetizer, dinner and dessert for $11 less.

Customers can choose a house salad, a Caesar salad or crab and shrimp bisque to start, followed by either Lowcountry boil, fish and chips or pesto shrimp pasta for dinner. Dessert options include key lime crumble, Snickers brownies or banana pudding. Not bad for $25.

Luxe three-course meal at Driftwood Rum Bar

You won’t find rum on the prix-fixe menu at this restaurant inside the Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island, but you can still get a three-course meal for $36.

Diners can start with whipped ricotta, drunken mussels or she-crab soup, choose from entrées like wild mushroom risotto, braised chicken leg, ahi tuna steak or beef ragu and end with either mango crème brûlée or flourless chocolate torte for dessert.

For that price, adding on a $13 mai tai or painkiller doesn’t seem so bad.

$20.99 pizza and wings at Local Pie

Pizza and wings for under $25? In this economy? Unheard of. But customers at Local Pie in Hilton Head and Bluffton can get any large, one-to-two topping pizza and an order of wings for $20.99 during restaurant week.

If wings aren’t your thing, that’s OK too. Local Pie is offering any two medium pies for $15.99, any two large pizzas for $29.99, any two large one-topping pizzas for $21.99 and any 10-inch pie and a salad for $17.99. The deals are available for both dine-in and takeout customers.

Lots of options for $43 at Nunzio Restaurant + Bar — plus $30 wine flight

Nunzio Restaurant + Bar at 18 New Orleans Road might win the prize for most options on its $43 per person Restaurant Week menu.

The menu includes six appetizers like beef carpaccio and mozzarella caprese salad, seven dinners like tagliatelle alla bolognese and branzino puttanesca and five desserts like tiramisu, affogato borghetti and Sicilian cannoli.

Diners can add a “tour of Italy” wine flight for an additional $29.99. The deal starts Jan. 11, a full 20 days before Restaurant Week officially begins.

$14 meal at Slow Country BBQ & Grill

Sometimes you just need a sandwich, fries and a Coke, and at Slow Country BBQ & Grill, that’s what you’ll get during Restaurant Week.

The Coligny Plaza eatery will offer diners a sandwich, side and a drink for $14. Customers can choose from “any” sandwich on the menu, whether that’s a burger or a fried chicken, brisket or pulled pork sandwich, and sides like potato salad, coleslaw, fries and mac and cheese. Simple, yet effective.

Three courses for $22 at Street Meet

Street Meet’s prix-fixe menu is one of the lowest priced at $22, and its offerings are simple but just flashy enough to give them the extra Restaurant Week pizzazz.

Diners at the Port Royal Plaza restaurant can choose a Caesar salad, garden salad or Italian wedding soup to start, followed by prime rib cheesesteak, a gyro or a Cuban sandwich. Everyone gets a mini brownie sundae for dessert, drizzled with hot fudge.

Cool weather drinks at Origin Coffee Bar

Origin Coffee Bar at 35 Main St. on the island says it is participating in Restaurant Week and offers a list of seasonal drinks for its menu. It’s unclear if this is just the regular winter menu or exclusive to the chamber event.

Drinks include the 12-ounce nitro brown butter mocha for $6, the peppermint mocha for $6, the “crosby” which is pistachio, white chocolate, espresso and milk for $5.75 and the filthy animal with cranberry, rosemary, sage, espresso and tonic for $6.25.

Free soup or dessert with purchase at the Patio Bar & Deck

The Patio Bar & Deck at the Sonesta will offer diners a free soup or dessert with a purchase of a burger, sandwich or “patio favorite.” Qualifying dishes include short rib chili, four cheese pizza, chicken bacon croissants and redfish sandwiches.

See another great restaurant week deal that we missed? Email [email protected] to have it added.

About 14 years after it closed an underperforming Hilton Head store, Food Lion is planning to open a new location on the island.

Plans have been submitted for a new Food Lion at the former Sam’s Club site at 93 Mathews Drive in Port Royal Plaza. Most recently, a 20-year memorandum of lease was signed Oct. 9 between the grocery chain and landlord Barony Fund I Investment LLC for a 41,000-square-foot store.

The Sam’s Club property is owned by Hilton Head businessman J.R. Richardson, who bought it in February 2024 for $5.8 million. Part of the site has already been redeveloped into Dill Dinkers Pickleball.

Food Lion operated for almost 22 years on the island, from May 1990 to early 2012. When it closed, Hilton Head was one of 113 underperforming stores shuttered by the North Carolina-based supermarket chain.

Now Food Lion is trying again on Hilton Head, hoping to breathe new life into a retail space considered by many to be a mid-island eyesore. And it’s coming to a space where projects have been promised in the past, only to never materialize.

Sam’s Club packed its bags on Hilton Head in 2017 to move across the bridge to Bluffton. This set off years of trouble for the Port Royal Plaza space, where much has been promised over years of vacancy.

About two years after Sam’s closed in 2019, Florida-based Bealls Inc. submitted a proposal to put two of its stores — Burke’s Outlet and Home Centric — in the space. Two years later, Go Store It self-storage facility planned to fill the space, but ultimately withdrew the plans after pushback from the community and town officials.

Most recently, “homegrown” grocer Lowes Foods filed plans to move into the space. Lowes is expanding its presence in South Carolina; the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based company said in May that it will convert a Kj’s Marketplace in John’s Island into one of its stores. But Hilton Head never materialized.

Richardson’s purchase of the plaza was an indication that things were getting serious. His company, the Richardson Group, is a Hilton Head stronghold, and Richardson’s father James Norris “Big Daddy” Richardson is responsible for the shopping center that eventually became Coligny Plaza.

JR Richardson created the gated Windmill Harbour community along the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as the South Carolina Yacht Club. Richardson also opened Westbury Park in Bluffton and pizza restaurant Local Pie.

The pickleball facility at the site opened in May 2025.

Lee Lucier, COO at the Richardson Group, did not respond to requests for more information.

Other tenants at Port Royal Plaza include Street Meet tavern, OKKO Japanese Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant and Planet Fitness.

Food Lion is a regional supermarket chain with locations mostly scattered throughout the southeast, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. It is one of 17 companies owned by Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch-Belgian food retail group that also owns northeast-centric chains like Stop & Shop, Giant Food and Hannaford.

Although it’s based in Europe, the U.S. is Ahold Delhaize’s largest market, with 2,017 stores in the third quarter of 2025. The company seemed to indicate Food Lion was performing relatively well in the third quarter; the chain reported 52 consecutive quarters of comparable store sales growth and was the driver of a 15.4% increase in U.S. online sales.

Food Lion also began work on 92 store remodels in the Greensboro, North Carolina, area in the third quarter, and launched 153 omnichannel remodels at 153 Charlotte, North Carolina-area stores. Ahold Delhaize is also building a new North Carolina distribution center to meet “growing capacity demands,” the company said in its report.

In the Lowcountry, the company currently has one store in Bluffton, one in Okatie, two in Beaufort, one in Lady’s Island and one in Shell Point near Parris Island.

A Food Lion spokesperson said that over the years, the company has worked to evolve its store format, product assortment and omnichannel capabilities to meet the needs of the communities it serves.

“We’re confident this approach positions us well for success in this market,” the company said of its future Hilton Head store. “We look forward to building lasting relationships and helping customers easily access the food they need to nourish their families.”

Hilton Head Island residents have a new option for starting the New Year strong with the opening of a new 24-hour gym, Anytime Fitness at Festival Centre at Indigo Park.

The gym officially opened its doors on Sunday, Dec. 28 and 24-hour access began Monday, Dec. 29. The facility is located at 45 Pembroke Drive, Suite #150, in the former Blockbuster space in the shopping center with Publix and Corner Perk.

Owner Matt Bauman said construction began in August, transforming the vacant space into a modern fitness center designed to serve both beginners and experienced visitors.

Holding to its name, members can access Anytime Fitness at any time and are able to visit any location nationwide with a membership.

What does Anytime Fitness offer?

The facility hosts a wide range of amenities, including cardio and strength training equipment, a turf training area and a physical therapy clinic located inside the gym.

Additional features include private restrooms and showers, a red light therapy bed and nutritional products and supplements available on site.

Personal training and group training are available, with programs scheduled to begin after the New Year.

Membership plans are now available for the new Hilton Head location. Options include a 12-month plan at $25.99 billed bi-weekly, or a 6-month plan for $350.50 due on the first day. Members are able to access a free mobile app to help track workouts and have a fitness consultation once they join to plan goals.

Where are other Anytime Fitness locations?

The Hilton Head gym joins nearby locations in Savannah and Rincon, with two additional Lowcountry locations already planned.

One location is coming to Hardeeville, across from the University of South Carolina Beaufort, in the New River Crossing shopping center, and the other on James Island.

Bauman said the new gyms are scheduled to open by summer 2026.

Other nearby gym options on this area of the island include The Exercise Coach and CrossFit Coastal Carolina & Tidal Training.

For more information about Anytime Fitness, folks can visit its website or Facebook page.

Ready to ring in 2026?

Residents and holiday visitors across the Lowcountry will have several chances to celebrate the New Year with events, ball drops, dinners and waterfront fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

From Hilton Head Island to downtown Beaufort, communities are offering family-friendly events to welcome the year ahead.

Here’s a running list of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day festivities taking place across Beaufort County:

Hilton Head Island

One of the area’s most popular New Year’s Eve celebrations, Harbour Town’s New Year’s Eve Ball Drop.

Taking place at 149 Lighthouse Road, this event features entertainment, food and music. To celebrate the start of 2026, an illuminated ball will drop twice — once at 7 p.m. for families with younger children and again at midnight to welcome the New Year. The $9 Sea Pines gate fee is needed for entry.

In addition to the onshore festivities, guests can celebrate from the water aboard the New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruise with Vagabond Cruise. The cruise runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and departs from the Harbour Town Yacht Basin. Dinner is included and reservations are required. Tickets are $109 for adults and $70 for children aged 3 to 12.

Beaufort

For those in search of fireworks, in Beaufort, the New Year will be welcomed with a fireworks display over the Beaufort River at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

Set against the backdrop of Beaufort’s historic waterfront, the display is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m., lighting up the sky with colorful bursts over the river.

Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and arrive early to secure a good viewing spot along the waterfront. This event is free and open to the public.

Restaurants to visit for New Year’s Eve

Below is a list of restaurants serving prix fixe meals or hosting New Year’s Eve celebrations. Click on each restaurant to be directed to the webpage.

If we missed a spot, please email [email protected] to have it added:

Hilton Head

Bluffton

Beaufort & Port Royal

New Year’s Day events

Hilton Head Island will host its annual Polar Plunge at Coligny Beach on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.

Held at 1 Coligny Circle, the event begins at 9:30 a.m. with activities and t-shirts. The plunge into the ocean is at 11 a.m. This event is free.

The 16th annual Pelican Plunge will take place on New Year’s Day at Hunting Island State Park, located at 2555 Sea Island Parkway.

Festivities begin with a costume parade at 12:30 p.m., followed by the official plunge into the ocean at 1 p.m. The event features prizes, food trucks and commemorative T-shirts for participants.

Tickets are required to take part in the plunge. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Every few months on Facebook or Nextdoor, a thread pops up with a similar question — when is Hilton Head Island getting a Trader Joe’s?

The posts tend to elicit the same reaction every time: Someone posts a link to the Trader Joe’s store request form, someone else is certain Trader Joe’s is already coming and at least one person says something like “they’re never coming here. Stop trying.”

But the retailer’s presence is conspicuously absent in a growing area where many transplants moved from places with their own neighborhood Trader Joe’s. Rumors that the grocer would open an Okatie Crossing store blew up on social media earlier this year; those rumors turned out to be false, The Island Packet reported at the time.

Lee Lucier, COO at the Richardson Group that leases Hilton Head’s Coligny Plaza, said Trader Joe’s is probably the No. 1 name he hears from people who live on the island. Lucier said he’s never spoken to Trader Joe’s officials, and since the island has a year-round population of less than 40,000 people, he thinks the odds of them coming here are basically zero.

“I know they have a population size minimum. A lot of companies do,” Lucier said.

Trader Joe’s has no new stores coming soon to South Carolina, said Nakia Rohde, public relations manager for the company. However, the retailer has been in a “state of continuous growth” since it launched in 1967.

“Some years we grow more than others, and our goal is always to bring delicious products at great values to as many people and neighborhoods as we can. The best way to do that is to open more stores,” Rohde said via email.

To understand how Trader Joe’s might view the Hilton Head area, here’s some insight into how the retailer selects new markets.

Trader Joe’s is a California-based specialty grocery store chain known for private-label products. Foods like frozen mandarin orange chicken, peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets and cookie butter have developed cult followings.

Food may be the main draw, but Trader Joe’s is more than vegan tikka masala and chili lime chips. The stores sell greeting cards, flower bouquets and holiday wreaths, advent calendars, personal care products and more. It even publishes its own newsletter, the Fearless Flyer, which customers grab at the checkout counter.

The Trader Joe’s mystique is only enhanced by its strictly brick-and-mortar approach to retailing. You can’t buy Trader Joe’s products online, or have them delivered via Instacart. It’s impossible to get stuff from Trader Joe’s unless you or someone you know is physically present inside a Trader Joe’s.

That can be tough for Lowcountry residents, because the closest Trader Joe’s stores are more than 100 miles away in Mt. Pleasant.

On an October 2024 episode of the company’s “Inside Trader Joe’s” podcast, vice president of culture and innovation Matt Sloan addressed the question “what can I do to get a Trader Joe’s in my area?”

First, Trader Joe’s looks for densely populated areas, Sloan said. That could mean a brand-new market, or a new location in a city where the company already operates.

At the time of the podcast, the company was looking at 1,000 potential sites — but most of them won’t actually become stores, Sloan said. The retailer is interested in sites with easy access from the road and adequate parking.

Stores are typically no more than 15,000 square feet, according to estimates from several news reports, making them much smaller than supermarkets like Publix, which are typically around 50,000 square feet.

“We’re not interested in growth by buying another chain and putting a different sign on the building,” Sloan said. “It wouldn’t feel like a neighborhood Trader Joe’s.”

The company aims to open between 20 and 25 stores per year, vice president of real estate and construction Donnie Martin said in a 2022 podcast episode called “How to make a Trader Joe’s, part one.”

In South Carolina, the chain has six stores — one in Myrtle Beach, two in Mt. Pleasant, one in Greenville and two in Columbia.

Stores in Miller Place, New York; New Orleans; McKinney, Texas; and Hamden, Connecticut, are scheduled to open soon.

The Hilton Head area is probably in a better position than ever to get its first Trader Joe’s.

The island’s year-round population has plateaued over the past decade , sitting around 38,000 in 2024, compared to about 37,000 in 2010. But Bluffton’s population has exploded, from 12,530 in 2010 to an estimated 36,146 last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearby Jasper County is the fastest-growing in the country in terms of housing units, and its population grew from 24,777 in 2010 to 35,618 last year.

Still, those population numbers might be too low to get the retailer’s attention. Before looking at Hilton Head, Trader Joe’s would probably consider nearby Savannah, Georgia, home to about 147,000 people, comparable to Columbia’s 144,788.

Trader Joe’s is used to getting requests for stores.

“It’s the greatest problem in the world to have ... people so excited about the prospect of one of our stores coming to their neighborhood that they start a social media campaign, or they start a letter writing campaign,” Tara Miller, vice president of marketing at Trader Joe’s, said on the October 2024 podcast.

But as cool as they are to see, they don’t really have an impact on where Trader Joe’s chooses to put stores, Sloan said.

“While we love the energy and enthusiasm often expressed in any of those various social media campaigns, they really — from the hate to break it to you department of maybe not what you were hoping to hear news — they really don’t have much of any impact on what we end up deciding,” he said.