This Charleston, SC, Hotel Was Made for Adventurous, Oyster-Loving Foodies

15.11.2024 - 09:38 / matadornetwork.com

It’s an early weekday morning in Charleston, South Carolina, and I’m discovering just how civilized coffee, minutes-out-of-the-oven scones, and fresh berries are as day brighteners. My breakfast is highlighted by the view of just-bustling East Bay Street in the Charleston Old and Historic District.

I’m parked at a cozy table in a discreet front corner of the lobby of The Palmetto Hotel, where I’m staying with my wife to take advantage of the Lowcountry Oyster Farm Package for Two, one of a handful of special offerings that the hotel organizes. Our plan is to soak up the chill, classic vibe and warm hospitality at The Palmetto, enjoy a few days of the Holy City’s eclectic dining scene, spy some historic architectural sites, and peruse handmade crafts along the fabled open-air Market Street stalls.

What really piques our appetite, though, is the chance to diverge a bit from the standard Charleston visit and get out onto the intercoastal waterway. We’re lured by the promise of an immersive experience on the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge and a view of the pristine ecosystem where meaty, sweet, and briny mollusks are sustainably raised from seed.

Lowcountry Oyster Company, one of the area’s premier sustainable oyster producers, awaits us. Founder Trey McMillan sold his first crop of oysters a year after setting up operations in 2017. Today, the company supplies Charleston restaurants and Southeast-based wholesalers with upwards of one million oysters per year.

The company added ecotours about a year ago to help share its story of sustainable aquafarming and gain greater exposure for the business. In store for my wife and me is a personalized tour, starting with an hour-long drive west of Charleston by private car to the unincorporated coastal town of Green Pond.

Photo: Michael J. Solender

We’re collected at The Palmetto by a driver in a sporty Lexus sedan, and we head out for a scenic drive into the heart of the South Carolina’s Lowcountry, a region defined by salt marshes (a type of estuary) and coastal waterways that host a biodiversity of plant, animal, and aquamarine life.

Close in, we weave along towards Bennetts Point, the road mere feet above the vast marshlands. Shallow angled Lowcountry sun shimmers in sunflower gold hues off the native grasses and glassy salt water. Tall scrub and craggy oak trees draped in Spanish moss line the approach to Lowcountry Oyster Company’s operation. Shrimp boats, squawking gulls, and lithe silver-toned egrets navigate out on the water.

Upon arrival, we’re met by JB Borgstedt, the ecotour director at Lowcountry Oyster Company. He’s in a hurry to get us out onto the water.

Photo: Michael J. Solender

If we hustle, he says, we can avoid a low tide that will prevent us from