Auto Mechanicin Charleston, SC

A few months before the start of the baseball season, Charleston RiverDogs general manager Dave Echols gathers his staff together for a brainstorming session on that summer’s promotions.

Normally, Echol’s marketing staff will come to the table with more than 200 ideas, eventually whittled down for the 66 home games that make the final cut.

“You want to create an atmosphere, a vibe with the music, the video board, plus have touch points around the ballpark that will engage the fans,” Echols said. “You add the promotions to kind of add to the chaos and fun for the fan experience.”

The Charleston RiverDogs have built a national brand on some of their, shall we say, creative and "wacky" promotional ideas.

Who can forget:

• Bobblections, in which fans pick a Bobblehead of a U.S. presidential candidate to serve as a poll for the election.

• Nobody Night (no fans allowed in the ballpark until the fifth inning to set a new non-attendance record).

• Silent Night (no cheering allowed).

• Go Back to Ohio Night (free one-way ticket to Cleveland for a lucky fan).

• Pope on a Rope Soap Night (it’s exactly what it sounds like).

Then there was the ill-fated Vasectomy Night in 1997; team officials cancelled that one after pushback from local clergy, politicians and others.

One of Echols’ all-time favorite promotions came in 2012, when the RiverDogs hosted the league All-Star game at Riley Park.

A standard home run derby just wouldn’t cut it, so Echols and his staff held the contest on the USS Yorktown in Charleston harbor. It’s still considered one of the best promos in MiLB history, and it was honored with the Best Overall Promotion of the Year by MiLB.

“I think that the home run derby contest we had on the Yorktown is really the standard bearer from our promotional department,” Echols said. “From brainstorming to execution it’s still one of my favorite idea. We got a ton of national coverage.”

Major League Baseball stepped in before the 2021 season and took over control of the minor league's on-field and off-field policies.

MLB now has oversight of promotions, which had been long left to the creative minds of minor-league staffs, and a famed RiverDogs strength.

“It’s a gradually refined type of thing,” Echols said. “There’s a little more red tape this year than in years past.”

Since the MLB takeover, the RiverDogs’ promotional staff has had to temper their enthusiasm for certain ideas as they must consider things like copyright infringement.

“Major League Baseball is trying to make sure we’re not infringing on copyrights,” Echols said. “Minor League Baseball all across the country has always pushed the envelope on copyrights with promotions, and they’re just trying to have guidelines to prevent that.”

That doesn’t mean that the RiverDogs, with the motto "Fun is good," have held back this summer. Staff brainstorming sessions produced another juicy promotional calendar for 2024:

• Championship Bobblehead Series: Three of the most prominent players from the RiverDogs three-consecutive championship seasons will be forever immortalized in bobblehead form. The three individual bobbles will come together to form a unique scene on top of a CV-10 naval ship.

The players are Curtis Mead (2021) on April 17; Carson Williams (2022) on June 19; and Xavier Isaac (2023) on Aug. 21.

• Boy Band Night (April 20): Get in sync with the RiverDogs as the team wears boy band inspired jerseys. The jerseys worn on the field will be auctioned after the game. “This one has a lot of potential if the fans embrace it,” Echols said.

• Swampy Joe (July 24): The Joe and its marsh next door will resemble the home of everyone’s favorite ogre (think Shrek). The ballpark will take on a swampy appearance and between-inning games will feature pin the tail on the donkey and a Scottish accent competition.

The RiverDogs’ six-game homestand against Columbia continues through Sunday. For ticket information see riverdogs.com or call 843 577-DOGS.

A bed of burrata rests at the bottom of a large white bowl at Doar Bros., the Meeting Street cocktail bar that occasionally hosts an Italian night.

At the most recent of such meals featuring fresh pasta and comforting Mediterranean mains, Jonathan Doar was in the kitchen placing charred broccolini and toasted bread inside the bowl alongside the creamy cheese.

Topping that was mortadella, sliced ultra thin and bursting with pistachios.

Doar is so enamored with the Italian deli meat that it shows up twice on the daily food menu at the Charleston cocktail bar he owns with his brother Adam.

The one-time Peninsula Grill line cook, who once spent a year cooking and farming in Italy, isn’t the only chef who’s bullish on mortadella.

This time last year, the Los Angeles Times called mortadella “the ‘trendy’ Italian meat with 1,000 years of staying power,” and boy was the newspaper right. Over the past 12 months, TikTok has been flooded with videos of home cooks making the mortadella sandwich from Anthony Bourdain’s cookbook and celebrity chefs raving about the pink marbled meat and calling it “O.G. bologna.”

Like bologna, mortadella got a bad reputation in part because of preservative-filled products made by U.S. food conglomerates, chefs say. It also didn’t help that mortadella sourced from Italy was among the cured meats banned from import by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 1967-2000.

Twenty-four years later, mortadella is increasingly showing up at Italian restaurants, sandwich shops and even oyster bars in Charleston.

It’s stuffed inside a hoagie roll at George Street oyster bar The Quinte and paired with whipped ricotta and pickled cherry peppers at da Toscano Porchetta Shop on President Street.

At The Pass on Spring Street, the rosy pink meat is joined by soppressata, burrata, sharp provolone and pickled Calabrian chili relish inside ciabatta. Named Such a Nice Italian Boy, the sandwich calls for mortadella spotted with pistachios, a nutty addition that some Italians argue strays from tradition.

Mortadella even appears on a thin pie at Woodhaven Pizza, where the chefs top pizza dough with shaved imported mortadella and fresh mozzarella.

Mortadella is difficult to make, meaning the majority of Charleston establishments, like Woodhaven Pizza in Mount Pleasant and Melfi’s downtown, source theirs from elsewhere.

Melfi’s executive chef Ashley Kegu likes to get her mortadella — the star of occasional specials at the King Street restaurant — from Tempesta Market in Chicago. One of her favorite ways to serve it is atop a simple white pie.

“It is absolutely fantastic. It’s a very silky, melt-in-your-mouth meat,” Kegu said. “As people got more educated about it, there have been more American producers that have been able to produce a high-quality mortadella.”

Sorelle executive chef Nick Dugan uses Antica Email, an International Gourmet Foods mortadella from Bologna, Italy. Its production follows the specifications of the Bologna Mortadella Consortium, Dugan said.

Simply shaving mortadella paper thin and pairing it with stracciatella cheese and pistachio pesto is one of Dugan’s favorite ways to serve the Italian meat. He also likes to dice mortadella and give it a spin in the food processor, blending it with ricotta Calabro to create what he calls mortadella pâté.

An ingredient Dugan works with often, the chef is happy to see it on more restaurant menus.

“I think chefs have always loved working with and eating mortadella. Or at least I have,” Dugan said. “The popularity and trends aren’t really set by the chefs; they are set by the guests. Chefs try their thing, and sometimes crowds latch onto them and sometimes they don’t.”

We’re putting Charleston’s lively performing arts scene in the spotlight. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, here are 10 theaters and performance venues around town, plus a few shows you may want to add to your calendar.

Sottile Theatre | 44 George St. | This theater serves the College of Charleston and the community. Upcoming performances include:

Charleston Gaillard Center | 95 Calhoun St. | The center was named after a previous mayor of Charleston. It has year-round music, dance, comedy, theater, and family programs. Upcoming shows:

Black Fedora Comedy Mystery Theatre | 164 Church St. | This spot is Charleston’s only live comedy mystery theater. Pro tip: You can volunteer to play a character. Shows include:

Dock Street Theatre | 135 Church St. | Known as America’s first theater, Dock Street is a non-profit and member of the Theatre Communication Group. Here’s a peek at the 2024-25 season:

Theatre 99 | 280 Meeting St. | This improv comedy hub offers shows based on audience suggestions. Prepare to laugh at one of these shows:

34 West | 200 Meeting St., Ste.100 | Shows are written by 34 West’s own actors and designers. Here’s a glance at some upcoming shows:

Queen Street Playhouse | 20 Queen St. | Home of the Footlight Players, this is the city’s original theater company. Below are some shows you can watch in its 93rd season.

James F. Dean Theatre | 133 S. Main St., Summerville | See the Flowertown Players perform in this historic theater’s 48th season. There are main stage shows, youth productions, and a studio series.

Holy City Magic | 49 1/2 John St. | See where the magic happens with performances by magicians including Howard Blackwell and Gogo Cuerva.

PURE Theatre | 134 Cannon St. | This professional regional theater is in its 21st season.

The North Charleston Performing Arts Center plays host to Broadway shows. The 2024-2025 lineup was revealed, and seven hits from the Theater District will take center stage including “Tina,” “Ain’t Too Proud,” and “Mamma Mia.”

Heads up: This isn’t a comprehensive list. Know of another spot we should highlight? Shoot us a message.

Columbia, S.C. – Cyberwoven, an award-winning branding, digital marketing, and website design firm, is thrilled to announce a new project with South Carolina Quantum (SC Quantum), a non-profit founded to champion the bold advancement of quantum talent and technology in South Carolina.

Working with the leadership team at SC Quantum, Cyberwoven will collaborate with the organization to solidify their online presence – the cornerstone for attracting more partner organizations throughout the region.

This collaboration includes the design and development of a user-friendly public website, to help tell a complicated story to a broad audience, and foster collaboration amongst industry partners, entrepreneurs, educators, researchers, investors, legislators, and the general public. The site will be instrumental in educating South Carolinians and the business community about the importance of this emerging technology and how it will impact much of South Carolina’s economy in the coming years.

“We’re excited to leverage our expertise in branding and web development to empower SC Quantum to inspire a wide-ranging community to find solutions to everyday challenges in more impactful ways,” says David May, president of Cyberwoven. “Our efforts will establish a platform that will empower SC Quantum to convene and engage a strong community of experts who advocate for impactful advancements in quantum technology.”

According to MIT’s Sloan School of Management, quantum computing is a system that uses the principles of quantum physics to simulate and solve problems that are difficult for traditional digital systems to manage. Quantum computing dates back to the 1980s, with the first well-known quantum algorithm emerging from MIT in the 1990s.

“Collaborating with Cyberwoven will help us educate our constituents about the benefits of emerging quantum research and inspire technical discoveries that can transform South Carolina’s economy,” said Joe Queenan, Executive Director of SC Quantum. “By investing in education, attracting top talent, and fostering collaboration, SC Quantum aims to ensure South Carolina offers the most dynamic and globally competitive destination for quantum discovery, education, and entrepreneurship.”

About Cyberwoven Cyberwoven is a brand, marketing, and web firm headquartered on Main Street in downtown Columbia, SC. Since opening its doors in 2001, Cyberwoven has launched award-winning websites, guided the creation and evolution of brands, and built audience engagement both online and in person. We work with organizations in various industries, including the arts, culture, government, retail, education, finance, healthcare, and insurance. Our goal is to create authentic and unmistakable brand experiences that are infused with imagination, build trust, and inspire love. Learn more at cyberwoven.com.

About SC Quantum South Carolina Quantum (SC Quantum), a 501(c)(3), was established in 2022 in Columbia, South Carolina to promote collaboration among academia, entrepreneurs, industry, and government, and to propel the advancement of Quantum Information Science and Technology. After a $15 million grant from the state of South Carolina in 2023, SC Quantum quickly grew interest from partners in South Carolina and the region to further the mission of what is now SC Quantum. https://scquantum.org/

South Carolina health inspectors found multiple violations at restaurants in the Charleston area in March, from rodent droppings, to roaches and dirty ice machines. The state each month releases grades and inspection reports for food establishments in the Charleston area.

Here are the restaurants that received some of the lowest ratings in March.

Pho Saigon had an inspection on March 22 and got a C grade.

An inspector observed rust-like residue in the ice machine. Also observed was food stored on the floor.

Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Shrimp rolls, fried tofu, spring rolls and cooked pasta was seen held at room temperature without time stamps.

Shrimp was seen thawing in still water. Clean knives were seen stored between a table and the prep table.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on April 5 and got an A grade.

Queology hand an inspection on March 28 and got a C grade.

An inspector observed an employee handle dirty plates, then handle single use items without washing hands.

Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Rust was seen on the shelving in the walk-in cooler. A buildup of debris was seen on dish area shelving.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on April 4 and got another C grade. A second followup inspection has not yet been held.

3 Matadors had an inspection on March 22 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed rodent droppings in the water heater room, back storeroom and dry food storage area. Multiple roaches were observed able the dish area.

Food storage pans, cookware were seen with food splash, grease and biofilm buildup. Food was seen stored on the floor of the walk in cooler. A buildup of grease and debris was seen throughout the kitchen.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on April 4 and got an A grade.

Bangkok Thai had an inspection on March 7 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed food stored on pavement outside. Also observed were wet clothes stored on a cutting board and clean knives stored between two work tables.

Prepared carrots were seen stored in a cardboard box. Also, food was seen stored on the floor in the walk in cooler. Meat was seen left to thaw without running water.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on March 15 and got an A grade.

Barsa had an inspection on March 18 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed multiple roaches in the kitchen. Also observed was organic black matter in the soda guns behind the bar.

Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Pears were seen stored on the floor.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on March 27 and got an A grade.

Charleston Place Hotel had an inspection on March 21 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed multiple roaches underneath the cook line.

A buildup of mold was seen on the walls and ceiling of the walk in fridge. A buildup of debris was seen in the floor drains underneath the cook line.

Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures.

The establishment had a required followup inspection on March 28 and got an A grade.

Hyman’s Seafood Company had an inspection on March 14 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed an employee handle raw fish with gloves, then perform other food tasks wearing the same gloves.

A buildup of grease and debris was seen underneath the fryer in the prep line. Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Biofilm buildup was seen on cutting boards that were in use.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on March 20 and got an A grade.

Lowdown Oven & Bar had an inspection on March 19 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed organic residue on the bar nozzle holder and in hoses leading to the ice bin and ice machine.

Certain foods were seen not cooling properly. Food was seen stored on the floor of the walk in cooler. The restaurant had discolored cutting boards. There were walls with an accumulation of dust and grease.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on March 27 and got an A grade.

Mango Tree Thai Cafe had an inspection on March 8 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed food stored uncovered with miscellaneous items on top of them.

The facility did not have a date marking system for foods such as cooked tofu, cooked poultry, cooked chops and open crab. The door in the dry storage area was in poor repair.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on March 15 and got an A grade.