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#ELATE2025 Local Guide

Welcome to Charleston! This beautiful, coastal, southern city has a rich historical legacy. Charleston is nicknamed “holy city” given the signature church steeple skyline.

We acknowledge the Indigenous people ancestral stewards of these lands: Modern Cusabo people include the Edisto Natchez-Kusso, descendants of the Kusso family, and the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians, descendants of the Edisto and Etiwan. To learn more visit: Exploring the Indigenous South | College of Charleston LibGuide

We also recognize the debt owed to the lives and labor of the enslaved Africans and their descendants, originally forced across the oceans to Charleston, the epicenter of the nation’s Atlantic slave trade. Their labor created the wealth of Charleston, the Lowcountry and South Carolina, enabling the planter elite’s opulent lifestyles. To learn more about African retained culture for generations visit: Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor | National Heritage Area 

Conference Events Overview 

Nearby restaurants

  • Bodega CHS: Relaxed eatery offering sandwiches, salads, and cocktails, including vegetarian options | 23 Ann St, Charleston, SC 29403
  • Virginia’s on King: Sophisticated southern cooking Lowcountry style | 412 King St, Charleston, SC 29403
  • Hyman’s Seafood: Vast seafood spot and deli spread over most of a city block in buildings that date back to the 1890’s | 215 Meeting Street
  • Charleston, SC 29401 
  • The Darling Oyster Bar: Stylish spot with vintage appeal for creative seafood dishes, fry baskets, and raw oysters | 513 King St, Charleston, SC 29403
  • Stella’s: Classy throwback diner for Greek dishes and meze to share, plus Mediterranean Sunday brunch | 114 St Philip St A, Charleston, SC 29403
  • Prohibition: Rustic-chic Modern American restaurant with creative cocktails and a Jazz Age theme | 547 King St, Charleston, SC 29403
  • Slightly North of Broad: Modern Southern and Lowcountry cuisine served in an airy, 18th-century warehouse | 192 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401
  • Poogan’s Porch: Traditional Southern cooking served in a Victorian townhouse with porches and a massive wine cellar | 72 Queen St, Charleston, SC 29401
  • Lenoir: Stylish bistro with outdoor seating, gourmet mains, and sharing plates, plus cocktails and wine | 68 Wentworth Street, Charleston
  • Bartaco: Upscale street tacos, sides, and drinks | 304 King St, Charleston, SC 29401

Black owned restaurants (Downtown) 

  • Bintu Altier: African Inspired Cuisine | 8 Line St. #D, Charleston, SC 29403 
  • Hannibal’s Kitchen: Soul food restaurant | 16 Blake St. Charleston, SC 29403 
  • Rodney Scott’s BBQ: Whole Hog South Carolina Style BBQ (2018 James Beard Award Winner) | 1101 King St. Charleston, SC 29403 

Black owned restaurants (North Charleston) 

Historical sites that might be of interest

  • Fort Sumter National Historic Park: Fort Sumter is located in the middle of Charleston Harbor and is only accessible by ferry rides through Fort Sumter Tours.
  • Fort Moultrie National Historic Park: Visit Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island to experience 171 years of seacoast defense from 1776 to 1947.
  • Charles Towne Landing: Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site sits on a marshy point, located off the Ashley River, where a group of English settlers landed in 1670 and established what would become the birthplace of South Carolina. Charles Towne Landing introduces visitors to the earliest colonial history of Charleston.
  • Rainbow Row: This stretch of 13 pastel-colored Georgian row houses along East Bay Street is one of Charleston’s most photographed landmarks.
  • Robert Smalls Historical Marker: Born into slavery, Robert Smalls freed himself, his crew, and their families on May 13, 1862, by commandeering a Confederate transport ship, the CSS Planter, in the Charleston harbor.
  • Grimké Sisters House Historical Marker: The c. 1789 Charleston double house at 321 E. Bay was the childhood home of renowned abolitionists and women’s rights activists Sarah (1792-1873) and Angelina (1805-1879) Grimké.
  • Denmark Vesey Monument: Denmark Vesey (1767-1822) was a free Black community leader accused and convicted of plotting an enslaved insurrection in Charleston in 1822. The monument to Denmark Vesey in Hampton Park was dedicated in 2014.
  • The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon: Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history. Over the last two and a half centuries, the building has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum.
  • Angel Oak: The Angel Oak Park is located on Johns Island. It is considered to be the largest Live Oak Tree east of the Mississippi estimated to be 300 to 400 years old.

Museums and Local Tour Guides 

Baseball game 

  • Riverdogs Baseball: Charleston Minor League team games with the Columbia Fireflies on July 8-13 (tickets $11-$134) 

Local shops (bookstores, small businesses) 

Local establishments suitable for groggy mob of 30–40 academics

The Cocktail Bandits: Johnny Caldwell and Taneka Reaves (Black women) a dynamic duo known around the globe as the curly-haired Cocktail Bandits. The two met as freshmen at the College of Charleston while being full-time Charleston Ambassadors. 

Marcus Hammond: Black Food Truck Festival Founder. This event, founded Fall 2021, is a family-oriented event featuring the finest food trucks in the region in Charleston, SC.  Our mission is to make an economic and social impact on the community by showcasing and investing in area Black-owned businesses.