Five Lowcountry Owners Worth Knowing

Jared Hellman and Andrew Hare, Odd Duck Market

Three locations now: Park Circle, downtown Summerville and Charleston. Breakfast, lunch, coffee and tea, plus retail space for locally made goods. The first store opened in 2023.

The numbers Hellman shared are the interesting part. Roughly 49 employees, annual payroll over $1.7 million, and average employee compensation over $25 an hour after tip-out. Before this, the two bought a downtown deli called Bubba Slye's for $60,000 around 2010, ran it about three years and sold it. Hare went on to found Vertical Roots, an indoor hydroponic farming company. Hellman was in tech consulting.

Asked about his proudest achievement, Hellman said they are "just like really happy to be able to have contributed to the livelihood of so many good people."

Nico Romo, Laura and Kersey House

Romo is one of roughly 80 French Master Chefs in the United States and the only one holding the title in South Carolina. He earned it in 2010 at 30 years old, the youngest recipient at the time. He has 32 years in the field and has been operating in Summerville about four years.

Laura, named for his Italian grandmother, does wood-fired pizza and seafood. Kersey House does a Southern-inflected French menu with tableside creme brulee. They sit across Main Street from each other, about 400 feet apart. He also runs Nico in Mount Pleasant.

On his proudest achievement: "the achievement is having a great team, great group of people to work with."

Jason Tucker and Jonathan DuPriest, La Chev 208

A French Quarter-inspired restaurant at 208 E. First North St. in Summerville. It opened in Knightsville in 2022 and moved to Summerville in early 2025. DuPriest is executive chef and co-owner, Tucker handles catering and events. Between them they have 55 years in restaurants.

DuPriest graduated from Summerville High School and says he is after the best French fries in Charleston, made with duck fat, rosemary and gruyere. The two met working at Tucker's other restaurant and wrote their business plan in a grocery store.

Becky and Mike Yarborough, Fed Up Food Truck

About five years in, running across the Lowcountry and into North Carolina. They show up at Third Thursday in downtown Summerville and cater corporate events and music venues.

Becky's first job was Duke's Barbecue in Ridgeville at 14. Mike managed Hyman Seafood for nearly 15 years and was general manager at Taco Boy on Folly Beach. They met working together at Gilligan's in Moncks Corner and left restaurant jobs for family time and schedule flexibility.

Becky on the pace: "Our goal is to be on the go. This is what we do every day. It's nonstop, continuous movement every day."

Jenn Grailich, Yesterday and Today's Unique Treasures

At 211 E. Main Street in Moncks Corner, under her ownership since 2025. It is a multi-vendor marketplace with more than 62 vendors selling everything from ceramic dishware to vintage signage to original artwork. The building also houses Victory Art, a DIY creative space running more than 16 classes a month.

Grailich on her vendors: "I have 62-plus vendors here, which I like to call small businesses, and they're all family, and they all have a story."

The thread

Four of these five started somewhere else in the industry and bought their way into ownership. None of them came in with outside capital and a concept deck. That is what the Lowcountry small business economy actually looks like, and it is worth remembering when the coverage skews toward the peninsula.

Sources

The Berkeley Independent, Find a new favorite at Odd Duck Market with Jared Hellman

The Berkeley Independent, Cross the Street from Kersey House to Laura with Master Chef Nico Romo

The Berkeley Independent, Duck Into La Chev 208 with Jason Tucker and Jonathan DuPriest

The Berkeley Independent, Get the meat sweats at Fed Up with the Yarboroughs

The Berkeley Independent, Hunt for treasure at Yesterday and Today