Queen Street Grocery: 100 years of serving Charleston

IMG_1871

Not your average corner store | Photo by CHStoday

Hey Charlestonians, welcome to another edition of Discover Charleston by Tate. One of my favorite places in the city is Queen Street Grocery, which turns 100 years old this year. The eatery wafts the smell of bacon + eggs down the street and it’s hard to resist stopping in for a bite.

Queen Street Grocery at 133 Queen St. opened in 1922. It served as an apothecary, then a grocery store, and today a breakfast and lunch spot that sells wine and local beers. Bill Murray comes by often to order The Murray crepe with turkey, brie, green apple, spinach, basil pesto, and sriracha.

The blue corner store serves crepes, sandwiches, omelets, and salads, plus coffee and smoothies. My go-to’s are the Happy Houdini sandwich because I love goat cheese (pro tip: put your chips in the sandwich) + the Huger Street smoothie.

The atmosphere is welcoming and the decor is eclectic. The main room has bright retro art on the walls — Jimi Hendrix and Willie Nelson are painted right by the chalkboard menu, smiling at you while you try to decide what to order. Bonus: there’s always fun music playing.

IMG_87ff41

Photo by CHStoday

The back room displays shelves of wines and local craft beers that you can take home. If you go through the back door, there’s a gated patio with colorful picnic tables. A few spindly tables line the sidewalk so you can people watch while you eat.

This charming corner store is such a cool part of the Lowcountry’s history. Explore the menu.