When Will Johns Island's New Restaurants Actually Open?

On the Stono River at 2409 Maybank Highway, near the St. John's Yacht Club Harbor marina, a 5,700-square-foot waterfront restaurant is close to finished. The initial design was approved more than two years ago. If you drive past often enough, it can look ready to open any week. The owner's target is spring 2027.

Most of the "coming soon" places on Johns Island follow the same calendar. Put the announced projects side by side and very few open this fall. Most are scheduled for the first half of 2027, and they sit at both ends of the island, along Maybank Highway and down where River Road meets Betsy Kerrison Parkway. For anyone planning dinners and weekends between now and New Year's, the useful plan is built on places that are already open.

Where every project stands this fall

The three projects with firm dates are a boat-friendly seafood restaurant on the Stono, a new retail and restaurant block on the south end, and a barbecue restaurant from an operator who already runs several. All three are aiming for 2027.

Stono's Oyster Bar is being built for people who arrive by boat

The Post and Courier reported that owner Mike Shuler plans at least 60 free boat slips at Stono's Oyster Bar. The restaurant will have indoor and outdoor seating, a rooftop dining area, and a menu centered on oysters and locally sourced seafood. Shuler told the paper the restaurant is on track for spring 2027.

Sixty free slips matter on this part of the river. The site sits beside a working marina, so plenty of diners could come by water rather than by Maybank Highway. For anyone who keeps a boat at that end of the island, the restaurant's opening may matter more than any other date on the board. For now, it's a spring date to keep an eye on.

The south end gets its own block, and the restaurants are still unnamed

At the other end of the island, the Freshfields Village developers have broken ground on South Island Market. It's a 34-acre mixed-use project at the southeast corner of Betsy Kerrison Parkway and River Road, and the Post and Courier reports it will add retail, restaurants and offices.

The Kiawah Island Community Association's March 2026 development update describes about 82,000 square feet of commercial space in eight buildings. Five of those buildings, with shops, restaurants and offices, are set to begin opening in early 2027, and a second phase will follow. A Charleston Metro Chamber announcement from March 2026 named a Roper St. Francis Healthcare primary-care office as an anchor tenant. It said Phase I was more than 53% committed and the tenant mix was still being finalized, with a spring 2027 opening target.

So the south end knows when its new block is expected to open but not who will cook there. When restaurant tenants are announced, Phase I's early-2027 window will tell you how soon you can try them.

Maybank Highway's barbecue addition sits next to the brewery

Lumpy's Place by Swig & Swine will be the barbecue company's sixth restaurant, at 2871 Maybank Highway. According to the Post and Courier, the concept was still in design and at least a year from opening. The owner told the paper he sees a "big void" in the island's dining scene. Holy City Sinner's running list of upcoming openings puts it in 2027.

Look at the address. Low Tide Brewing's taproom is at 2863 Maybank Highway, so the new barbecue spot will be on the same short stretch. Low Tide has also announced a larger operation nearby, beside Trophy Lake at Beer Garden Way. When the governor's office announced the expansion in November 2024, it described a new brewing operation and event space, with operations forecast for mid-2026. WhatNow Charleston reported that the new facility would include a restaurant too. Low Tide's website still points beer drinkers to the existing taproom at 2863 Maybank. If both projects open, this part of Maybank will have a brewery and a barbecue restaurant within a few minutes of each other.

Three openings with no firm date

The rest of the board has no reliable date yet. Treat these three as places to check on, not places to plan an evening around:

1. Locals Sushi & Sports Pub, 1804 Crowne Commons Way. In August, the Post and Courier reported that this fourth location in the Live Oak Square development, just off Maybank Highway, was approaching an anticipated September debut. The paper said it would be led by Johns Island resident Brittany Gifford and would be the only dedicated sushi spot between James and Kiawah islands. As of mid-October, the Locals website still listed only its Mt. Pleasant, West Ashley and James Island restaurants. Call ahead before you plan a sushi night on the island.
2. Parlor Doughnuts, 1823 Maybank Highway. The doughnut shop already has coastal South Carolina locations in Summerville and Pawleys Island. Its Johns Island opening date is still listed as unknown.
3. Low Tide's Trophy Lake facility. The 2024 announcement forecast mid-2026, and that window has passed. Check Low Tide's own channels for an updated date.

Your fall food plan, using what's open

With most new openings set for 2027, the next two months run on established places and a few dated events. All three below are on the island:

• Low Tide Brewing taproom, 2863 Maybank Highway. If you can't pick one beer, a flight of four 4-ounce pours is $12. A souvenir package that lets you keep the flight glass is $15.
• Galloween: Timber Scares at Legare Farms, 2620 Hanscombe Point Road. The haunted forest trail runs its final nights on October 30 and 31. It's Legare Farms' first haunted Halloween attraction in nearly a decade, with five scare zones and live actors. Tickets are required, and the event is billed as intense and not recommended for young children. Legare Farms also appears on local pumpkin-patch lists this season. Some 2026 operating dates were still being finalized when those lists came out, so check the farm's hours before you go.
• Harvest Festival at Johns Island County Park, 2662 Mullet Hall Road. It's Saturday, November 7, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with live bluegrass, pumpkin decorating, hayrides, Carolina barbecue, kettle corn, and a crafters market for early holiday shopping. Admission is $10 for ages 13 and up and free for children 12 and under and for Gold Pass members, according to Charleston County Parks.

After the Harvest Festival, the next big date on the island's food calendar is spring 2027. That's when Stono's Oyster Bar plans to open on the river and South Island Market's first buildings are expected at Betsy Kerrison and River Road, with Lumpy's Place also listed for 2027. The Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park, November 13 through December 31, is a short drive off the island for the weeks in between.

New restaurants and shopping blocks change how a part of the island gets used, and that can affect what a home nearby is worth. If you live near Maybank Highway or the south end and want to see how your home compares as these projects get closer, Roslyn Kay Parker can walk you through it with a free home valuation built on what's selling around you right now.