19 hours ago
Teams Behind Charleston's Last Saint and Lupara Go Italian-ish for Next Project
Restaurateur and cocktail creator Joey Goetz (of James Island hangout Bar George and vibey cocktail bar Last Saint) and chefs Mason Morton and James Ostop (of Bar George and red-sauce pop-up Lupara) are coming together for a new project in the Wagener Terrace neighborhood. Located at 1117 King Street, Ok Donna will be a collaboration of Goetz's bartending skills and Morton and Ostop's Italian flavors — but do not call it an Italian restaurant, even though Ok Donna is named for Goetz's mother, Donna, who is from Palermo.
'I think when people think Italian, they think of a certain experience they're going to have,' says Goetz, 'like a certain tablecloth or it's only for special occasions, things like that, and we want the space to be very neighborhood-y, very Bar George in a way. We want it to be a cool, downtown neighborhood bar and restaurant.'
Bar George partner Hank Weed and Goetz's fiancée, Megan Hill, who currently runs Bar George, will also join the project.
The food menu at Ok Donna will draw inspiration from Lupara's pop-ups, featuring fresh pastas, as well as adding pizzas and seasonal vegetable specials to the lineup. 'It's not going to be your traditional red-sauce restaurant,' says Goetz, 'I don't want the kitchen to be hamstrung by Italian cuisine or any style of cuisine. I wouldn't call it Italian, but it's rooted in Italian.' He cites the menu at Bar George as a guiding example. The James Island restaurant serves Peruvian chicken, oysters, fancy hot dogs, and farm-fresh produce plates — there isn't really a set style to any of it.
The same will go for the bar at Ok Donna. Goetz doesn't want only to serve Negronis and Americanos. 'I wanted a little bit more freedom to do some other stuff,' he says. The drinks at Bar George are craveable and creative, like the recent addition of the Safe Word, which features spicy tequila, Salers aperitif, lime, celery bitters, Ancho Reyes, and olive brine.
If you've ever visited Bar George or Last Saint, you know that they're hip spots with cool soundtracks, mismatched furniture, and quirky, irreverent menus — we're expecting much of the same for Ok Donna. It has to be cool if there's a poem about dirty martinis and cigarettes on the homepage.
'I want this to be the sort of place where you feel comfortable coming in for a beer and a slice of pizza,' says Goetz, 'I don't want you to think you have to make a reservation and it's a whole thing. I want the neighborhood to sense that they can come in as they are.'
Look for the newcomer to open later this summer. See More: Carolinas Restaurant News
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