Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: FROM THE SOUTH TO YOUR MOUTH

011516charlestonshop3-500x328-1519254Clare Destoppelaire, manager of the Charleston Shops in Red Bank, shows off some of the Low Country food she sells.  (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

011516charlestonstonshop4-220x165-8207342Filling in the space on Monmouth Street recently vacated by Toad Hollow is Red Bank’s newest purveyor of epicurean delights: the Charleston Shops. And it’s got a Southern accent.

Owners Isa and Peter Hewitt, a couple who live in north Jersey, love visiting the coastal Low Country area of South Carolina, where they have a home. So much so that they now have three Charleston Shops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, betting that other northerners will enjoy what Charleston has to offer as well.

011516charlestonshop2-500x316-2870268Customers are offered a taste of some of the southern delicacies sold in the shop. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

The shop sells authentic as well as healthier adaptations of Low Country condiments. “Charleston has become an international city, and needs to cater to new tastes,” Clare Destoppelaire, manager of the Red Bank store, tells PieHole.

What are people in the new south eating? “The old south was about butter, butter, more butter and lard. Fat was never an issue,” Destoppelaire says. “The new south has accepted new tastes utilizing spices, seasonings and maybe an occasional ham hock.”

Do you own a food-related store of any kind? Claim your Sifter listing now!

While there were plenty of sugar-laden jams and jellies on the shelves, we also found fruit butter: concentrated fruit preserves that contain more fruit and less sugar.

Hard-to-find bags of stoneground, non-GMO white grits which according to Destoppelaire are, “entirely different from any found at the grocers. These are from the Low Country plantations,” were in plentiful supply.

On any given day, you’ll find open jars of Carolina Vidalia Relish or Sweet Bourbon Glaze to spread on a Low Country biscuit or Benne wafer in the store. Brought to the Charleston area by African slaves, benne (meaning “sesame” in Bantu) wafers are an unexpected flavor by way of ground sesame seeds baked with a sugary mixture, rendering them sweet, savory and crispy.

“In the south, it’s fine dining and a cocktail,” Destoppelaire says while pointing to one area of the store dedicated to an assortment of drink mixes. Bottles of Fat and Juicy Bloody Mary mix share shelf space with a fruitier blueberry lemondrop mix. Pear ginger martini and a peachy margarita mix are also available.

Tea, a daily staple for many southerners, comes from the Charleston Tea Plantation. One of the largest tea plantations on the mainland in America, it is found on Wadmalaw Island, a six-by-ten-mile island just outside of Charleston.

Not just food, the Charleston Shops also sells shiny, low-maintenance aluminum serving pieces, such as cake plates on pedestals, large platters and bowls decorated with alligator and palm tree motifs. For chefs and home-cooks, the store offers a range of southern themed cookbooks.

Framed art and pottery from southern artists is for sale, as are home decor items, such as small table lamps in the shape of the colonial symbol of friendship and hospitality, the pineapple.

The Charleston Shops is open Monday  through Thursday 10 a.m. to  5 p;m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 to 6; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.. It’s closed on Tuesdays until March 1. Check out The Charleston Shops on Sifter!

susan-ericson-9177851

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...
WHAT? NO redbankgreen NEWSLETTER?
Apologies to redbankgreen newsletter subscribers: the daily email hasn’t gone out for two days because of technical issues.
RED BANK: TIRED OF SKEETERS?
RED BANK: Tired of mosquito bites every summer? Monmouth County has a free program to help eliminate skeeter breeding grounds.
SEA BRIGHT: POLAR PLUNGE FOR ST. JAMES, OTHERS
Hundreds braved the wind and sea on Sunday at 1PM in support of St. James Elementary School, and other Catholic schools in the area. The eve ...
RED BANK: RBR CLAIMS TITLE
RED BANK: Watch pure joy as the RBR boys basketball team celebrates its first B North championship in 17 years.
RED BANK: FORGET-IT FRIDAY
RED BANK: Train Station can be a lonely place Friday mornings, especially with cold rain in the forecast.