Divorce Attorney in Mount Pleasant SC

Local diners clamoring for a greater variety of Italian restaurants in the Lowcountry can now rejoice with the recent opening of Abbracci in Upper Mount Pleasant, an upscale eatery featuring a warm and hospitable atmosphere.

"The thing here is that people want to feel part of it. They want to feel like they're in a place where they're welcome, a place where they're not rushed out the door," said Don Migliori (MEE-YOR-EE), who owns and operates Abbracci along with his wife Joanna.

If the surname sounds familiar, it's because Don and Joanna previously opened Migliori's Pizzeria, which continues to thrive five years later as a go-to destination for pizza, pasta, salads and meat entrées on SC Highway 41.

The Miglioris celebrated the opening of their new dining establishment by hosting a Feb. 25 ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by members of Town Council and the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce.

The inspiration to open the new business, according to Don, was to share his family's love of quality Italian food with sixth-generation Charlestonians, as well as recent COVID transplants.

"It's a beautiful community with lots of people with lots of good food tastes," said the restauranteur and longtime Motley Rice attorney.

Unlike traditional checkered table cloth Italian restaurants, Abbracci's assortment of offerings aren't your run-of-the- mill parmesan dishes dripping in marinara sauce and mozzarella. Instead, patrons are treated to a choice of authentic appetizers (i.e. grilled octopus with almond pesto) and main entrées, such as ricotta gnocchi or pollo al mattone (roasted chicken cooked under a brick).

Spearheading the food preparation is renowned executive chef Devin Sansone of Fig and Coda del Pesce fame. The Virginia-born culinary artist and his team only use DOP-certified Italian cheeses, balsamics and olive oil in their kitchen, along with fish and shellfish from nearby Tarvin Seafood and mushrooms bought right up the street off US Highway 17.

"There's no frills, no gimmicks. We buy the best ingredients," assured Sansone. "They spare no expense when it comes to ingredients. And when you have good ingredients, you really don't have to do a whole lot to them — it's going to shine by itself."

Giving customers the real Italian experience comes from Don's old world heritage that began with his grandfather Giuseppe Migliori emigrating from Frosinone, Italy in 1907 to Ellis Island in New York City. As the last of Giulio and Gloria Migliori's six children, Don took great pleasure in feasting on traditional fare while growing up in Cranston, Rhode Island.

"My dad went to medical school in Bologna, Italy. My two oldest brothers were born there. So, I grew up in a very Italian community," recalled the restaurant impresario. "Food, culture, family, community are a huge part of the Northeast Italian experience."

Although Abbracci is large enough to seat 100 people indoors and an additional 50 individuals outside, the Miglioris are currently in the process of adding a third section consisting of event space for 50-80 patrons. Outdoor fire pits and weekend music, moreover, are features that are emblematic of Abbracci's charm and old country ambiance.

The tight-knit family concept extends to restaurant employees, according to Don, who are all afforded medical coverage, which is far from common in food service.

"And so, I think, again, feeling that you're part of something, feeling like something that's giving back, making a difference. Just having good quality food and good service, that's our recipe, and hopefully it's working."

For more information on Abbracci's of Upper Mount Pleasant, visit https://abbraccichs.com/.

The company behind a $500 million real estate project at Patriots Point went before Mount Pleasant officials this week seeking to renew its agreement for five years and to establish a special district for the mixed-use development.

The formal rezoning and renaming of the state-owned land has been in the works for months.

Charleston-based Bennett Hospitality leases the 31-acre property from the authority that oversees Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. Now known as the Waterfront Gateway District, it will be formally renamed Patriots Annex if the changes are approved.

Michelle Reed, the town's planning director, said during a Jan. 6 meeting that the company will be held to the same zoning approvals and other requirements.

She called the proposed changes "mutually beneficial." They will cement the details of the Patriots Annex project under a planned development agreement, giving town officials more oversight in the design and scope of the project, she said.

James Wilson, an attorney for Bennett Hospitality, said most of the proposed terms were "copied and pasted" from the previous agreement.

The planning committee sent the requests to Town Council for further review before it will vote on them.

Bennett Hospitality has said it plans to break ground on the first of three hotels at Patriots Annex in 2025. Its previous five-year development agreement with the town expired in October.

Mike Bennett, the company's founder, said the only significant change he's seeking is to move a planned "grand lawn" from the waterfront to the middle of the property. He estimated that 14 percent of the property will be open space, or 40 percent more than the current zoning rules calls for.

"I was not required to make a grand lawn area. It was my idea ... Moving the lawn centered it up so all of the development can benefit from the lawn, creating a central park," Bennett said at Monday's meeting.

He also said the SeaFair Village hotel and cottages to be built along the waterfront will have a similar feel and appeal as the nearby historic Old Village.

Patriots Annex has been designed as a long-term project that will include hotels, residences, offices and retail space along Charleston Harbor. Patriots Point plans to use the revenue from the public land it's leasing to the developer to help maintain its fleet of historic warships.

A recent study by the University of South Carolina estimated Patriots Annex will nearly double the state-owned military museum's annual economic impact to $393 million from $205 million by 2030.

While a broad-based master plan for the project has been approved, each of the phases will require approval from the town.

A popular chicken wing franchise is adding another Lowcountry soon.

Buffalo Wild Wings, with the slogan “Wings. Beer. Sports” will be slipping into 715 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.

The commercial real estate firm CBRE said it leased out the former Outback Steakhouse to the chain.

Grube Inc., an Ohio-based franchise group, will run the East Cooper sports bar. The company operates dozens of Buffalo Wild Wings outposts across the U.S. — as well as Marco's Pizza joints — and has a new location in Myrtle Beach.

With the Mount Pleasant expansion, Inspire Brands-owned Buffalo Wild Wings will have 16 restaurants in South Carolina and about 1,320 nationwide.

Outback closed its Johnnie Dodds Boulevard steakhouse last March after a 25-year run.

Now open

After months of waiting, Jersey Mike's is now open in Summerville.

The sandwich shop is one of several new tenants in the Publix-anchored shopping center in Nexton — and one of the first following permitting and water issues that have plagued the shopping center, several tenants noted.

Ryan Delman, who operates 17 Jersey Mike's in North and South Carolina, chose to expand to Summerville given the booming population growth in the area.

The Jan. 15 debut reflects Jersey Mike's policy of opening new shops on Wednesdays and the chain always supports a charity with its first-day sales. Delman said he's donating 50 percent of all his first-day sales to Nexton Elementary School.

Customers who get their hands on a fundraising coupon can make a minimum $3 contribution to the school in exchange for a regular hot and cold sub.

The One Nexton commercial node on Nexton Parkway will include restaurants, a bank and workout site in addition to the future 48,387-square-foot Publix supermarket, which plans to open Feb. 12.

Other food-and-beverage offerings coming to the development include Catrina’s Cantina, Woodhaven Pizza, Ruby’s Bagels, Naan Appetit and Dulce Churros, Ice Cream and Cocktails.

Convenience stop

Parker's Kitchen will host a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration for its new Moncks Corner location.

The new Berkley County convenience store and gas station is at 3018 S. Live Oak Drive.

It's the Savannah-based company’s 40th store in South Carolina and 96th store overall.

Snack attack

A Charleston food business is making a name for itself after a nod from Instacart.

The New Primal, a healthy snack business founded by Jason Burke, earned a spot at No. 15 on the online delivery platform's list of fastest-growing emerging brands.

Products include chicken, beef and turkey sticks of varying flavors like pizza, maple and apple, that are also allergen-friendly and gluten-free snacks.

Launched in 2012 and now based on Daniel Island, the brand raised $15 million from an Colorado investor about four years ago. It products are now available in Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Sprouts and on Amazon.

Starting next month, New Primal will be roll out nationwide at Costco warehouse stores. The new exclusive product for the members-only retailer will feature a larger package of 20 mini sticks, expanding on the original five-unit offering.

MOUNT PLEASANT – The ban on condos, apartments and townhomes that was in place for more than seven years has expired. Now, developers will have access, albeit limited, to a finite number of building permits for the first time since 2017.

Originally proposed as a temporary 180-day halt to any new multifamily developments to update infrastructure, town leaders moved to extend the life of the moratorium four times, with the final extension approved in March last year.

"The moratorium … was initially intended as a short-term measure, aimed at allowing time for necessary infrastructure improvements and updates to the zoning code. Though it was supposed to last only a few months, it extended far beyond that, reaching over seven years," Councilman John Iacofano said.

According to the Municipal Association of South Carolina, moratoriums are generally temporary measures to implement changes to zoning codes or slow development for a short period of time.

Mount Pleasant’s moratorium sought to do both.

Growth rates slowed, road improvements made

The language of the moratorium ordinance stated that "significant growth negatively impacts the overall character of the Town, causes undue traffic congestion, causes urban sprawl and leads to inadequate public services."

The moratorium would give the town time to get ahead of these issues, as well as complete an update to the town's comprehensive plan and zoning code rewrite.

"It was not just reactionary," Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said. "There was a method to it, which involved the new comprehensive plan and the new zoning code. That's why I voted that once we had those two in place, we could lift that moratorium."

In some areas, they were successful.

A handful of transportation projects that sought to calm traffic were completed in the span of the seven-year moratorium.

The town spent roughly $9.6 million to widen Park West Boulevard from two lanes to four, another $18 million on Coleman Boulevard improvements, and last year completed intersection upgrades at U.S. Highway 17 and Mathis Ferry Road.

The $10.6 million Vaughn Ed Kee Parkway, a connector road between Highway 17 and Billy Swails Boulevard, was completed in 2023.

Minor progress at U.S. Highway 41 has been made. Charleston County reconfigured intersections and changed signal timing at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and 41.

Mount Pleasant's growth rates have slowed down, too.

From 2012 to 2017, the population grew by nearly 20 percent. In the first five years of the moratorium, from 2017 to 2023, that growth rate declined to just under nine percent.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the town's population grew by roughly 8,000 between 2017 and 2023, compared to the 15,202 jump from 2012 to 2017.

The comprehensive plan update was completed in 2019, and the zoning code rewrite, which was the reason for extending the moratorium in 2021, was completed in January 2025.

The zoning code update took more than three years. It was the first time the ordinance that regulates construction and building guidelines was overhauled since 1979.

When it came time to consider extending the ban again or letting it expire, leaders chose to let it expire at the end of 2024.

"It was really to try to put some more long-term measures in place to manage the growth," said Mount Pleasant Planning Director Michele Reed. "I think it definitely served its purpose."

Moratorium impact on housing prices

Critics of the stop-growth measure say the moratorium actually added to the issues it was designed to solve.

Though growth rates slowed in town and some large-scale road projects were completed, the measure likely drove up the cost of housing and put a strain on the markets of surrounding communities, Josh Dix, the vice president of advocacy for the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

He called the moratorium a "short-sighted" solution unable to successfully address the core of Mount Pleasant's growth issues.

The lack of new apartments, townhomes and condos have driven up the price of existing housing stock. This trend can mostly be seen in single-family homes, Dix said.

"When you limit townhomes, condos, apartments, that puts pressure on all the other housing sectors. In Mount Pleasant, in particular, you've seen housing prices for single families more than double because you're limiting options," Dix said.

Since 2017, median sales prices for single-family have doubled in both upper and lower Mount Pleasant, according to market reports compiled by the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

In upper Mount Pleasant, the median sales price in 2017 was $485,000. By the end of 2024, median sales prices grew by 101 percent, to $975,000.

Sales in lower Mount Pleasant surpassed the million-dollar mark last year at $1,125,000 — a 118 percent jump from 2017's $516,000.

High prices can limit residents' abilities to stay in Mount Pleasant, with young homebuyers unable to afford their first home and seniors unable to age in place, Dix said.

"We are cutting off future generations of Mount Pleasant folks living in Mount Pleasant, and that's kind of sad, because that's how you lose cultures and the dynamics that make our community so great," Dix said.

Limits still in place

The building permit allocation system was put in place in 2019, and extended for another five years in 2024. Permits for residential buildings are capped, another method of controlling growth in town.

"These measures are designed to carefully manage our town’s growth, ensuring that development is sustainable and aligns with our community’s capacity and needs," Iacofano said.

With a ban on apartments, townhomes and condos no longer active, developers will now have access to the 500 building permits allocated for multifamily developments until 2029.

Attainable and workforce housing developments were exempt from the moratorium and the permit allocation system, as were a handful of planned developments like Carolina Park.

Only one attainable housing development came online during the span of the ban. Gregorie Ferry Towns was completed in 2022. The development featured townhomes that were listed for under $300,000 off of Highway 41 and quickly sold out.

It's unlikely the town will see any more large apartment or townhome developments, Reed said. There's been little interest in the available permits, too.

"There's really no multifamily zoning available. Everything's developed," Reed said.

Mixed-use developments, properties that are zoned for commercial uses but have a mix of retail and residential units, are more likely to take advantage of the permits now available, she said.

"With something like that, we're talking about 10 units, 15 units, if even that," Reed said. "Nothing really big is out there that we've heard of or that we're aware of."

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The intersection of the I-526 interchange and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard was filled with cars and sledding Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Jonathan Bennett, 16, uses a boogie board as a sled Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Ice drips from tree branches Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Kevin Holler pushes his daughters Harper Holler,12, and Hayden Holler,10,down the snow covered hill at Johnny Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Ethan Willis treks up the hill at Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange with his cardboard box to try sledding for the first time Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Few cars drive Highway 17 as snow covers the roadway Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Johnnie Dodds Boulevard is covered by snow early Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 morning in Mount Pleasant.

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Sledders speed down the hills on the Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Will Silcox skis down the hill at I-526 interchange near Johnnie Dodds Boulevard Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Michael Spellman plays in the snow with his grandson Wells Spellman,6, at the I-526 interchange at Highway 17 Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant. Michael Spellman, born and raised in Charleston, said he was just as excited as his grandson to be sledding on the hill.

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The hill at the intersection of Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 was full of sledding on boogie boards Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Austin Yokeum relaxes at the top of the Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and I-526 interchange after early morning ski trips down the slope Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

Snow covers Highway 17 seen from the 526 overpass in Mount Pleasant on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

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A tiny bird jumps on top of snow Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Charleston native Sarah Simmonite bundles for warmth to venture out in the snow Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Boogie boards, surf boards and cardboard boxes were used as sleds for the snow Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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TJ Harris and his mom Shanna Harris sled Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.