Connect Savannah | Best of Savannah 2023

2023

DIG IN!

YOU’VE CROWNED YOUR SAVANNAH FAVORITES

OUR ANNUAL LIST OF THE BEST PEOPLE, PLACES, FOOD AND SERVICES IN THE HOSTESS CITY AND REGION

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ERICA BASKIN PUBLISHER erica@connectsavannah.com

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EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Jesse Blanco, Beth Logan, Kareem McMichael, Emily Dietrich (WSAV)

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

It’s been a year, and we’re proud to announce the 2023 edition of Connect Savannah’s BEST OF SAVANNAH winners!

As in the past, readers voted on their favorites in 13 main categories:

ARTS AND CITY LIFE

FOOD AND RESTAURANTS

NIGHTLIFE AND DRINK

MUSIC

HEALTHCARE

RECREATION AND BEAUTY

HOME AND LIFESTYLE SERVICES

SHOPPING

MEDIA

KIDS

WEDDINGS

THE ISLANDS

RICHOND HILL AND POOLER

I would like to extend a personal thanks to everyone who contributed to this year’s publication. Christopher Sweat, our Creative Director, put in a tremendous amount of work to create the visual experience you see on the page.

Chantel Britton, our Managing Editor, keeps us up-to-date on the latest content trends. And McKennah Drury, our Graphic Designer, went above and beyond with her vision and artistic talent to make this edition a visual success.

We also have an amazing sales team led by Bucky

Bryant, John Hunt, and Kaylen Conley. They meet and exceed every challenge and goal put in front of them.

Logan Hinton, our Regional Digital Sales Director, ensured that we offer the best digital product in the market, but not without the help of Digital Operations Specialist (and overall social media queen) Peyton Maxwell.

Tess Taylor, our Regional Events Director will make sure everyone has the time of their lives at our party on May 18.

The distribution of our magazine is handled by the one-and-only Wayne Franklin, also known as the Mayor of The Original Pinkie Masters.

Our Office Manager, Wendy Wickham, keeps everyone on track and no question goes unanswered.

We couldn’t have done it without our talented contributors who pitched in to make this edition extra special.

A huge thanks to Charles H. Morris and the team at Kehoe Iron Works at Trustees’ Garden for hosting the awards party this year on Thursday, May 18! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Thank you to everyone who voted, and let’s celebrate!

ERICA BASKIN PUBLISHER

OUR VALUES

Connect Savannah is a print and online arts, entertainment and news magazine, focused on Savannah and the Coastal Empire life and experience.

We strive to feature stories that impact our community and the people who live here— to educate, entertain, inform and foster conversation.

We appreciate and encourage readers to share news and information with us, and to share any criticism and questions.

We want to be your comprehensive source for what happens in our community and beyond. We are here to serve you.

Find us on the following social media platforms or reach out to us at news@connectsavannah.com or 912-721-4378.

© 2023, Savannah Media, LLC. 611 East Bay Street Savannah, Georgia 31401

Phone: (912) 231-0250 | Fax: (912) 238-2041

Brandon Carter, winner of several awards, prepares to dive into a famous seafood platter from The Original Crab Shack, a multi-year winner. Photo by Adriana Iris Boatwright. Also featured are cocktails from Peregrin, a table of deliciousness from Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, and the goodest boy on the Tybee Police force, K9 Rocky.

Comprised of the very best musicians in the area, TG Live will keep the party rolling with a blend of Motown, R&B, Funk, and Soul material. They are guaranteed to keep any house rocking all night long.

Available for weddings, corporate events, personal celebrations, and all other events.

BOOKING: (419) 962-6263 TGLIVE912@GMAIL.COM

It’s official, Savannah! Drumroll please...We are proud to present the 2023 Best of Savannah issue! You spoke, and we listened. The record numbers of your votes have crowned the champions of our beloved city in every category imaginable.

Think you know the best local book or band? Think again. We have it all, including the city’s hidden gems, down to the best axe throwing and best store window displays. Yes, you heard that right. We’ve got everything covered!

Grab a seat, relax, and sip on some sweet tea, or maybe something a bit stronger (to-go options available, of course). Browse through the pages of this year’s Best of Savannah winners to discover new local businesses, people, and places you may not have known about.

But wait, there’s more! The excitement doesn’t end there. It’s time to party! Mark your calendars for May 18, for the annual Connect Savannah Best of Savannah Party. Get ready to celebrate the winners at the historic Kehoe Iron Works.

Tickets are available now, so scan the code and secure your spot at the party of the year. Let’s toast to the very BEST Savannah has to offer!

BRANDON CARTER

BEST ALL-AROUND SAVANNAH RESIDENT AND BEST TOUR GUIDE

BRANDON CARTER

BEST WALKING TOUR

SAVANNAH TRUE HISTORY TOURS

Lawyer, tour guide, and now Connect Savannah’s “All-Around Best Savannahian,” Brandon Carter has been a fixture in the Hostess City for several years.

Carter came to Savannah for a career at a local law firm, but he would quickly learn that he was needed in a different capacity.

Awhile back he overheard a local tour guide giving a ghost tour that differed from what he knew was Savannah’s true history–something that didn’t sit well with him.

And that’s when Carter decided it was time to make a tour of his own.

“I decided to do something different. I decided to create Savannah True History Tours. Fortunately, it’s caught on so we’re correcting all the bad history that’s been put out there.”

Carter explained that his tours are not your typical ghost tour–in fact, it’s not a ghost tour at all.

“I actually don’t do ghost tours, I do history and dark history tours which are a fact-based alternative to the ghost tours. I heard the tours go by where I used to live on Wright Square. I’m a former park ranger for the National Park Service, (he’s also now a member of the Georgia Historical Society) so it was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.”

Offering an alternative to ghost tours, Carter said people don’t only like the tours–they seem to love them.

“I give six different tours. All of them are fact-based. I researched and wrote them all, and we get a lot of folks that I

encourage to come at the start of their trips to Savannah, so that way they get to know why Savannah looks the way it does, or who were/are the big players in Savannah’s history. It’s a way to gain a deeper appreciation—not just be entertained for a couple of hours.”

While Carter works to preserve the integrity of the city’s history every night, during the day, he works to keep other attorneys out of ethical issues.

Though the two jobs may seem like totally opposite fields, Carter said there were several surprising similarities between the two careers.

“I’m not in the courts anymore, I used to prosecute in my first gig out of law school. You have to be an interpreter; you have to present your case in a factual manner, but still keep the jury’s attention. So this is the same thing,” he explained

“I chose the facts I lay out about Savannah for a reason. And I have to present those in an entertaining manner to keep people interested for two hours.”

But researching the tours is no easy task. It takes hours of commitment to comb through books, records, and even old letters.

“I always like to start very broadly. One of my favorite books about Savannah, at least getting started, was by Walter Fraser, a recently deceased professor at Georgia Southern: “Savannah in the New South and Savannah in the Old South.” When you get into those books it gives you a wonderful overview of the city. So that you learn, generally, who the key players

Adriana Iris Boatwright

What’s not good about Savannah?

ARTS & CITY LIFE

BRANDON CARTER

were in the early days. Then you research the people. Then you go down those rabbit holes and you find their letters, their diaries. So I like to start very broadly and then hone in very narrowly on particular subjects.”

Even with a busy schedule, he said he’s not slowing down any time soon. In fact, Carter may have been voted Best-All Around Savannahian, but he said he’s expanding to other cities who also have a demand for true history tours.

“As of last weekend, there’s now a Wilmington (NC) True History Tours. And we gave our first ever tours there. We have some local historians up there giving our tours. We didn’t go to Craigslist or Facebook to seek our employees. We reached out to the people who wrote the books on Wilmington. And so maybe one day the tours could be a full time gig.”

Luckily, Carter isn’t leaving Savannah any time soon.

“What’s not good about Savannah? The people, the food, the history, the drinks. Every bit of Savannah has been amazing.”

Carter encourages people to come talk with him. Happy to share a beer and a little bit about Savannah’s history, Carter hopes that people feel confident that they are getting what they pay for when it comes to the tour.

“It shows that what we’re doing, we’re doing it the right way. We’re giving fact based tours, things you’re not going to hear elsewhere, and you’re going to have a much deeper understanding of Savannah.”

Lawyer turned Savannah True History tour guide, Carter continues to change local perceptions of ghost tours by providing a unique experience based on the real dark history of Savannah. Serving the city in more ways than one, make sure to say hello when you see him around town–you might even learn something.

- Emily Dietrich WSAV-TV

Best All-Around Savannah Resident BRANDON CARTER

FINALISTS

Caleb Harkleroad

Jennifer Taylor

Best Animal Rescue Organization RENEGADE PAWS

RESCUE

FINALISTS

Coastal Pet Rescue Pooler Paws

BEST ARCHITECTURE FIRM ROSE ARCHITECTS

FINALISTS

Felder & Associates

Shah Architecture

Best Art Gallery

GALLERY 209

FINALISTS

Kobo Gallery

Oksana Fine Art

Best Dog Park

DAFFIN DOG PARK

FINALISTS

Tom Triplett Park

Mohawk Dog Park

Best Event ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION

FINALISTS

Wag-O-Ween

Savannah Mega Comic Con

Best Firefighter GREG JACOBS

FINALISTS

Chela Gutierrez

McKayla Wright

Best Indie Film Venue

LUCAS THEATRE

FINALISTS

Red Eye Film Productions

Lodge of Sorrows

Best Law Enforcement Officer

K9 ROCKY

FINALISTS

Gene Harley

K9 Bolt

Best Law Firm

THE MANELY FIRM, P.C.

FINALISTS

Mike Hostilo Law Firm

Eichholz Law Firm

Best Local Actor

W. MARK MCCULLOUGH

FINALISTS

Justin Kent

Rayshawn Roberts

Best Local Actress

VALERIE AMERICA

LAVELLE

FINALISTS

Cecilia Arango

Jessica Ross

Best Local Attorney

DAVID PURVIS

THE MANELY FIRM, P.C.

FINALISTS

Mike Hostilo

Richard Sanders

The people, the food, the history, the drinks. Every bit of Savannah has been amazing.

K9 ROCKY

WE SMELL BEST POLICE OFFICER AND BEST ISLANDS PERSONALITY

K9 ROCKY TYBEE ISLAND POLICE

While strolling the streets of Tybee Island, you might come across Connect Savannah’s “2023 Best Police Officer,” but he won’t be dressed in blue—and he won’t even speak to you.

That’s because this officer has four paws and goes by the name K-9 Rocky, Tybee Island Police’s famous goodwill ambassador—a black German Shepherd that’s the star of the force!

In August of 2022, The Tybee Island Police Department promoted K9 Rocky, a former shelter dog, to the rank of Senior Patrol Officer.

Over two years ago, the Tybee Island Police Department entered into a partnership with the Humane Society for Greater Savannah called “K9 For a Day”.

As part of that program, a shelter animal joins Tybee police officers on patrol twice a month in order to exercise, socialize and increase their chances for adoption.

Little did the officers know, that same program would lead to the adoption of the first dog to ever work for their agency.

Rocky officially joined the team in June of 2020. Of course, he isn’t your typical police dog. Instead of sniffing out bombs, drugs or bad guys, Rocky’s whole job is to make people smile.

While serving as an animal ambassador, Rocky has attended community events across The Coastal Empire, and has also made visits to assisted living facilities, summer camps, churches and a club for adults with

special needs.

In addition to his regular duties, Rocky has helped to raise money and donations for various non-profit organizations, to include his friends at the Humane Society for Greater Savannah, Renegade Paws Rescue, Savannah Wildlife Rescue, Safe Shelter, the Georgia Police K9 Foundation and the 200 Club of the Coastal Empire.

Handler Lieutenant Emory Randolph has been working alongside Rocky for over two years, but has been in the Savannah area for just over 13 years, only recently taking on his K-9 partner.

“We started in January of 2020. We created a program with the Humane Society of Greater Savannah called K-9 for a Day. As part of that program, we take shelter animals on patrol twice a month, exercise them, and socialize them,” Lt. Randolph said.

The K-9 for a Day program was a sweeping success with 55 out of 56 dogs being adopted due to the efforts of the Tybee Island Police Department.

“Leading up to Rocky’s day out, the Humane Society kept telling me, ‘You’re going to want to adopt one of those dogs.’ And I kept telling them my Chief wouldn’t let me do it.”

Rocky would be dog number 6 in the program. Lt. Randolph said Rocky’s first experience with police work was one to be remembered.

“We got to the police department, and he got away from me and just started running down the hall.”

K9 ROCKY

He continued, “Rocky goes around the corner into the kitchen area where our break room is, and I hear my Chief’s voice. And now I’m really dead, right? I go around the corner, and the Chief is sitting at the table, and Rocky is in his lap licking him in the face. The Chief is just laughing. He looks at me and goes, ‘Let me guess you want to adopt this dog.’”

Lt. Randolph explained that it was really the Humane Society that wanted them to take Rocky, but he wasn’t sure if the German Shepherd had made the right first impression. But, with little convincing, Rocky was already part of the force. He graduated from the program and into a police badge.

But Rocky isn’t like a typical police dog; he actually has no formal police training. Rocky’s purpose is solely to be

an ambassador for the people and pets of Tybee Island.

Off the clock, Rocky is a big goofball, according to Randolph. A fiend for balls and dog parks, Rocky is like any other typical dog, just with a few extra responsibilities.

“When we’re out there on the street, we do community outreach. When we’re not attending special events, we’ve gone to schools, nursing homes, and churches.”

But having a dog as a partner has its perks. Lt. Randolph explained that he always wanted to be a police officer and took a special interest in K-9 handling.

Although he wasn’t able to become a traditional K-9 officer, he says that things not only worked out the way they should, they worked out for the better.

“I’ve come to realize that the reason it

never worked out before was because it was always supposed to be Rocky. I truly believe that it was always supposed to be Rocky.”

There is one drawback to having such a popular pooch as your partner.

“It’s slightly aggravating that everywhere I go everyone asks, ‘Where’s Rocky?’,” he joked. “But it comes with the territory.”

From shelter dog to public servant, Rocky continues to serve Tybee Island, bringing joy to just about everyone he meets.

And if you find yourself looking at shelter dogs, you might just see the next “Best Police Officer” waiting for their chance.

- Emily Dietrich

WSAV-TV

...it was always supposed to be Rocky.

I truly believe that it was always supposed to be Rocky.

BEST ACTRESS VALERIE AMERICA LAVELLE

Valerie America Lavelle is humble and thankful for being voted the 2023 Connect Savannah Best Local Actress.

She has always had a creative side and liked to perform. She started performing when she was in high school.

“I was always kind of shy. Growing up, I was a military brat and I spent a lot of time doing stuff on my own. When I got to high school I got to pick all of these electives and stuff like that. Each year I was going to pick a different one but the first year I picked was theater, and I just stuck with it,” said Lavelle.

There, it was born, her freshman year of high school, the joy she found in bringing works to life on stage.

“My very first show was my freshman year. It was ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ and I was one of the fairies. I think I had a line with, maybe three words in it, and I said, this is for me,” said Lavelle.

Lavelle said she enjoys acting in a show because “you get this fast family for a month or two with the other cast and crew members.”

“I always enjoy just being able to see that there’s a finished product that you get to have, and you share with everybody, and it’s all celebrated with and audience,” said Lavelle.

She has been acting and performing in Savannah for over a decade. From “The Vagina Monologues” to “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Lavelle has performed a variety of challenging roles. She was also instrumental in helping grow the Bay Street Theatre with Travis Coles.

Her community involvement continued as she performed in

shows at the Savannah Actors Theater, which later turned into Cardinal Rep before closing.

“Once I moved here and was going to school here, I just went all in on trying to fill as much of the time as I possibly could with acting, especially when you’re in your early 20s and you could stay up to three or four in the morning doing whatever projects. I just kind of signed up for anything,” said Lavelle.

One of more challenging roles came in 2022 when she was cast as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Bay Street Theatre—a show they have done for many years, but this was the first time a male had not performed the role.

“There’s so much pressure that comes with playing that role, and especially being female. I just thought that there was going to be, a negative reaction to it initially. There was always that brief moment when I would come out and they

would turn the chair around so the audience sees me for the first time in the show, and it would be kind of silent,” said Lavelle. A true professional, Lavelle knew the show must go on, and it surely did.

“You can feel that they’re starting to accept it and they’re willing to go along for the ride. Yeah, I’ve been doing this for over ten years,” she said.

Lavelle said she enjoys seeing more representation in theater when it comes to casting for different roles. “There was this (I believe) off Broadway production of “Little Shop of Horrors” and it was great to see MJ Rodriguez from “Pose” in the show,” said Lavelle.

Lavelle is Panamanian American and remembers growing up and not seeing many people that looked like her on the stage, but is happy that is changing.

“It’s been great to see the community grow and everyone get their own niche that they’re growing into and finding their family—a family that pushes you to want to try something else, yourself. I’ve been able to direct shows and do explore other things” said Lavelle.

Lavelle is doing even more now. She has created The Assembly of Phantasms which she describes as a “thrilling and immersive” theater experience, and they will continue to produce more shows.

“I will continue to do work locally but one of my bucket list shows is ‘Once Upon a Mattress.’ I love Carol Burnett, who was in the original production. My heart is definitely stuck in theater. The theater community here is small, but it’s always growing and there are many talented people that are a part of it,” said Lavelle.

- Kareem McMichael Photo by Travis Spangenburg

Best Local Author

MARY KAY ANDREWS

FINALISTS

Leigh Ebberwein

Jessica Leigh Lebos

Best Local Comedian/ Comedy Team

FRONT PORCH IMPROV

FINALISTS

Stephanie Kaple

Bill Cooper

Best Local Photographer SHOT BY SOMI STUDIOS

FINALISTS

Michelle Holloway

Photography

Eastwood’s Photography

Best Local Theater Director

JOHN TAYLOR TIMMONS THE SAVANNAH UNDERGROUND

FINALISTS

Jenn DoubledayThe Savannah Children’s Theatre

Travis Spangenburg

Savannah Shakes

Best Local Theatre Production THE SAVANNAH UNDERGROUND

FINALISTS

The Rocky Horror Show LIVE!

Say Gay!

(Savannah Cabaret)

Best Local Vacation Rental Service SOUTH KEY MANAGEMENT

FINALISTS

Lucky Savannah Tybee Vacation Rentals

Best Museum AMERICAN PROHIBITION MUSEUM

FINALISTS

Pin Point Museum

The Jepson Center for the Arts

Best New Building THE ENMARKET ARENA

FINALISTS

Vintage Special Event Center

Savannah Convention Center Remodel

Best Philanthropist MIKE HOSTILO LAW FIRM

FINALISTS

Jennifer TaylorRenegade Paws Rescue

Marianne Ganem-Poppell

- Savannah Master Calendar

Best Place of Worship COMPASSION

CHRISTIAN CHURCH

FINALISTS

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist The Temple of Glory Community Church

Best Place to Work THE MANELY FIRM, P.C.

FINALISTS

Old Town Trolley

Georgia Ports Authority

Best Principal/ Headmaster

CAROLE FORAN BLESSED SACRAMENT SCHOOL

FINALISTS

Dr. Tony Foy - Andrea B. Williams Elementary School

Dawn Odum - St. Vincent’s Academy

Best Savannah-Chatham County School Board Member

ROGER MOSS

FINALISTS

Michael Johnson Jasmine Polley

Best Tour Company

SAVANNAH TRUE

HISTORY TOURS

FINALISTS

Old Town Trolley

Savannah Slow Ride

Best Tour Guide

BRANDON CARTER

SAVANNAH TRUE HISTORY TOURS

FINALISTS

Justin Sean Hollingsworth Jodie Thomas

Best New Local Book THE SAVANNAH GONDOLIER

LEIGH EBBERWEIN

FINALISTS

“The Homewreckers”

Mary Kay Andrews

“Black, White, and The Grey” John O. Morisano and Mashama Bailey

Best Non-Profit Organization RENEGADE PAWS RESCUE

FINALISTS

Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire PACK

Best Public Relations Group

ABSHIRE PUBLIC RELATIONS

FINALISTS

Simply Savannah Marketing

Cecilia Russo Marketing

Best Public Servant/ Community Leader

JAMES HALL

FINALISTS

Marianne Ganem-Poppell Coco Papy

Best Visual Artist

TAMARA GARVEY

FINALISTS

Jose Ray • Tittybats

Best Walking Tour

SAVANNAH TRUE

HISTORY TOURS

FINALISTS

Sav. Supernatural Tours

Truth in Evidence Haunted Tours

Best Worship Leader BRITTANIE ODUM

TEMPLE OF GLORY COMMUNITY CHURCH

FINALISTS

Bishop Stephen Parkes Diocese of Savannah

Antwan Smalls - Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship

Best Asian Food FLOCK TO THE WOK

FINALISTS

E-TANG

The Vault Kitchen & Market

Best Bagels

BIG BON BODEGA

FINALISTS

Midtown Deli & Bagel Shop

Rocky’s NY Deli & Italian Catering

Best Bakery

AUSPICIOUS BAKING COMPANY

FINALISTS

Baker’s Pride Bakery

Back in the Day Bakery

Best BBQ

SANDFLY BBQ

FINALISTS

Wiley’s Championship BBQ

Slow Fire Barbeque

DINING

Best Breakfast COLLINS QUARTER AT FORSYTH

FINALISTS

Clary’s Cafe Sunny Side Up Savannah

Best Brunch THE COLLINS QUARTER

FINALISTS

Ardsley Station The Ordinary Pub

Best Burger GREEN TRUCK

NEIGHBORHOOD PUB

FINALISTS

Crystal Beer Parlor

Ardsley Station

Best Burrito

JAVA BURRITO

FINALISTS

Bull Street Taco

Tequila’s Town - Sandfly

Best Caribbean Restaurant

SWEET SPICE

FINALISTS

Tortugas

Island Breeze

Best Coffeehouse FOXY LOXY CAFE

FINALISTS

Friendship Coffee Company

Java Burrito

Best Commercial Refrigeration Company COASTAL RESTAURANT SUPPLY & SERVICE

FINALISTS

Hobart Service

TWC Services

Best Cuban Food RANCHO

ALEGRE CUBAN RESTAURANT

FINALISTS

Cuban WIndow Cafe

Chazito’s Latin Cuisine

Best Cupcakes GIGI’S CUPCAKES

FINALISTS

Baker’s Pride

Back in the Day Bakery Grins & Giggles Cookie Co.

Best Deli

ROCKY’S NY DELI & ITALIAN CATERING

FINALISTS

Zunzi’s Midtown Deli & Bagel Shop

Best Desserts Restaurant LULU’S CHOCOLATE BAR

FINALISTS

Better than Sex Dessert Restaurant Below Zero

Best Downtown Restaurant

CRYSTAL BEER PARLOR

FINALISTS

Vic’s On The River

The Olde Pink House

The fried chicken at Mrs Wilkes Dining Room, winner: BEST FRIED CHICKEN AND BEST SOUTHERN FOOD

Best Fine Dining VIC’S ON THE RIVER

FINALISTS

The Olde Pink House Ardsley Station

Best Food Truck THE NAKED DOG

FINALISTS

Chazito’s Latin Cuisine Pie Society

Best French Restaurant CIRCA 1875

FINALISTS

Le Cafe Gourmet St. Neo’s Brasserie

Best Fried Chicken MRS. WILKES DINING ROOM

FINALISTS

Geneva’s Famous Chicken and Cornbread Co. Ardsley Station

Best Fries

GREEN TRUCK NEIGHBORHOOD

PUB FINALISTS

Ardsley Station

Sly’s Sliders and Fries

Best Hot Dog THE NAKED DOG

FINALISTS

Sea Wolf Tybee

Sly’s Sliders and Fries

Best Indian Food HIMALAYAN CURRY KITCHEN

FINALISTS

NaaN on Broughton Namaste Savannah

Best Italian Food

BELLA NAPOLI

FINALISTS

Bella’s Italian Cafe Corleone’s Trattoria

Best Japanese Restaurant HIRANO’S JAPANESE RESTAURANT

FINALISTS

Miyabi Kyoto Steak House

Ukiyo Savannah Best Late Night Restaurant

HUC-A-POOS BITES AND BOOZE

FINALISTS

Ardsley Station

Vinnie Van GoGo’s

Best Local Chef

MASHAMA BAILEYTHE GREY

FINALISTS

Dustin Ricker - Ardsley Station

AJ Baker - Sundae Cafe at Tybee

Best Local Ice Cream LEOPOLD’S ICE CREAM

FINALISTS

Below Zero

Starland Strange & Bazaar

Best Macaron Shop MARCHE DE MACARONS

FINALISTS Paris Market

Le Macaron Best Mediterranean Restaurant OLYMPIA CAFE

FINALISTS

Troy Mediterranean Cuisine Shuk

Best Mexican Restaurant TEQUILA’S TOWN

FINALISTS

Jalapeños Mexican Grill Bull Street Taco

Best Middle Eastern Food AL SALAAM DELI

FINALISTS Olympia Cafe Shuk

Best Midtown Restaurant THE 5 SPOT

FINALISTS

Sweet Potatoes Kitchen Kayak Cafe

TOP ROW (L-R): Green Truck Pub, Bull St. Taco, Ardsley Station. BOTTOM ROW (L-R): Bella Napoli, Savannah Square Pops, Himalayan Curry Kitchen

Thank You For Voting Us Best Deli!

Best Mimosa ARDSLEY STATION

FINALISTS

The Ordinary Pub

The Collins Quarter

Best New Restaurant

JAVA BURRITO

FINALISTS

The 5 Spot Sandfly

Brochu’s Family Tradition

Best Outdoor Dining THE WYLD

FINALISTS

The Crab Shack

Starland Yard

Best Salad

KAYAK KAFE

FINALISTS

Green Truck Neighborhood Pub

Spanky’s

Best Sandwich Shop

ZUNZI’S

FINALISTS

Rocky’s NY Deli & Italian Catering

The Black Rabbit

Best Seafood Restaurant

THE CRAB SHACK

FINALISTS

The Wyld

Enjoy the NY Deli Experience from your home or office! We deliver through our partner SavTakeout.com! Grab and go prepared meals!

Enjoy the NY Deli Experience from your home or office! We deliver through our partner, SavTakeout.com!

Monday - Saturday: 7am-3pm

Best Overall Restaurant ARDSLEY STATION

FINALISTS

Erica Davis Lowcountry

Best Shaved Ice/ Snow Cone/ Frozen Thrills

Breakfast • Lunch • Catering • Desserts

912.354.2914 • rockysofsavannah.com

Instagram: @rockysnydeli

Facebook: Rocky’s of Savannah NY Deli & Italian Catering

MONDAY - THURSDAY 7:00am - 4:00pm FRIDAY 7:00am - 5:00pm

SATURDAY 7:00am - 5:00pm

Crystal Beer Parlor

The Olde Pink House

Best Pizza

VINNIE VAN GOGO’S

FINALISTS

Huc-A-Poos

Vittoria Pizzeria

Best Pub Food CRYSTAL BEER PARLOR

FINALISTS

Ardsley Station Green Truck Neighborhood Pub

Best Restaurant Supply Company

COASTAL RESTAURANT SUPPLY & SERVICE

FINALISTS R & R Restaurant Supply

Best Romantic Restaurant BETTER THAN SEX - A DESSERT RESTAURANT

FINALISTS

Ardsley Station

The Olde Pink House

SAVANNAH SQUARE POPS

FINALISTS

Rita’s Italian Ice

Pelican’s Snoballs Savannah

Best Shrimp & Grits (TIE) ARDSLEY STATION

VIC’S ON THE RIVER

FINALIST

Erica Davis Lowcountry

Best Small Plates Restaurant

ARDSLEY STATION

FINALISTS

Jazz’d Tapas Bar Common Thread

Best Soul Food Restaurant GENEVA’S FAMOUS CHICKEN AND CORNBREAD CO.

FINALISTS

Narobia’s Grits & Gravy Sweet Spice Restaurant

Best Southern Food MRS. WILKES DINING ROOM

FINALISTS

Ardsley Station

Olympia Cafe

BEST BAKERY AUSPICIOUS BAKING CO.

BY JESSE BLANCO | EAT IT AND LIKE IT

With new eateries coming on the scene seemingly monthly, it is very easy to get caught up in debate.

I see it all the time on social media, visitors to our area (and sometimes even locals) like to ask “What is the absolute best place for (insert name of food).”

A lot of times, it’s seafood. Other times it’s burgers or pizza or fried chicken. Everyone has an opinion. Some of those opinions are blasphemous, but hey, they are an opinion just the same.

One thing I do believe there is a consensus across Savannah is that we have a best bakery.

That’s Auspicious Baking Company.

For roughly six years now, Mark Ekstrohm and Katie Bryant have been delivering solid baked goods all over town.

You know you are doing something right when about two dozen cafes in Savannah are carrying something you make in your own bakery. They are proud to do so too.

It is not uncommon for a business to brag about the fact that they

“proudly carry” anything from Auspicious they can get their hands on.

As a result, the demand for both wholesale and retail is through the roof.

Kaitlyn tells me they outgrew their space for production in Sandfly very quickly. There is currently a search for a larger space to make more goodies.

“It’s no secret we outgrew our space for baking a while ago.” she says. “Everyone sees it when they come in. We are all bumping into the each other trying to get around.”

“I just don’t want to scare anyone into thinking we are leaving our retail space in Sandfly.”

Fair enough.

If you remember back to 2017 when Katie and Mark started this tiny “mom and pop shop” it was up the street on Skidaway Road near Eisenhower.

The lines on Saturday mornings were legendary. They sold out on the regular. Almost immediately they needed more space.

That led to them moving to their

current location in the heart of Sandfly.

The Saturday morning lines still exist, but the fact that they are open for retail sales four days a week definitely helps alleviate the congestion on the weekends. A little. Kinda, sorta.

If you’ve never tried any of the baked goodness from Auspicious, you are definitely in the minority around here.

Most everyone has. Sweet, savory or anything in between.

Personally, I don’t think I’ve had anything from Auspicious that wasn’t among the best of the item I’ve ever had.

Yes, it is that good.

Not only were they winner of our Eat It and Like It Foodie Award for Best Bakery, but it is also why why Connect Savannah’s voters also named them the best in town.

There is very little debate on this one. They are accolades well deserved, and a must try if you haven’t already.

Dare I say you will Eat It and Like It.

BEST HOT DOG AND BEST FOOD TRUCK THE NAKED DOG

Nine years ago, The Naked Dog opened up as a humble hot dog stand on River St. serving up gourmet all-beef franks to hungry customers ambulating the busy street. The owners have since closed the stand and converted their business into a thriving food truck operation, delivering the famous dogs throughout the Coastal Empire.

They made the pivot during the pandemic, which turned out to be the right move because their weenies on wheels were a major hit. In the last three years, The Naked Dog has enjoyed much success, which has enabled them to add a second truck to their business.

Oddly enough, hot dogs weren’t a part of the original plan for owner Patsy Hood and her husband Jim.

“We actually came to Savannah to do an Italian Ice franchise. . . Those things are up and down as far as your business goes, and so we wanted to do something different that we felt could sustain itself and that’s been the hot dog business,” said Hood.

She got the idea to serve hot dogs because Jim was such a big fan of the staple sausage. But The Naked Dog doesn’t serve just any old dog. Patrons enjoy the highest-quality Vienna beef franks coming straight out of Chicago nestled in a warm, fluffy poppyseed bun.

“We make sure that we buy top line ingredients. We don’t buy any cheap ingredients at all, and I think that’s what makes it good. We make our own chili. We make our own slaw. Everything from scratch,” she explained.

This commitment to excellence has earned The Naked Dog favor with the Savannah community, who voted the business Best Hot Dog and Best Food Truck this year, two titles that Hood is honored to have received.

“We were so shocked and excited to say the least. And I attribute that to not just myself and Jim. It’s our whole team putting the work in. We try to treat each person as the most important customer that we have, and we’ve always operated like that,” said Hood.

Some of their most popular items include their Chicago Dog, Chili Cheese Dog and Slaw Dog. They also have specialty dogs like their Reuben Dog and the lauded Trailer Park Dog, which is topped with golden fries and a special sauce. They also vend a very good veggie dog for their plant-based patrons. But hot dogs aren’t the only thing available on the menu.

“Believe it or not, we also have very good hamburgers,” Hood shared.

The Naked Dog posts their schedule online via their Facebook page and Savannah Food Truck Force.

-Chantel Britton

Sweet Potatoes Kitchen

Best Southside Restaurant

DRIFTAWAY CAFE

FINALISTS

Sweet Potatoes Kitchen

Bella’s Italian Cafe

Best Spice Shop THE SALT TABLE

FINALISTS

The Spice and Tea Exchange

Brighter Day

Best Starland District Restaurant

ARDSLEY STATION

FINALISTS

The Vault Kitchen & Market

Bull Street Taco

Best Steakhouse

THE STEAKHOUSE ON WHITEMARSH

FINALISTS

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Stone & Webster

Chophouse

Toni Steakhouse

Best Sushi Restaurant THE VAULT

FINALISTS

Sushi Hana • Raw Ingredients

Best Taco BULL STREET TACO

FINALISTS

Tequila’s Town Tacos and Tequila

Best Takeout Restaurant

ZUNZI’S

FINALISTS

Green Truck Neighborhood Pub Spanky’s Southside

Best Tea/ Boba Shop BELOW ZERO

FINALISTS

The Savannah Tea Room

All Migh-Tea Boba Shop

Best Thai Restaurant

CHIRIYA’S THAI CUISINE

FINALISTS

The King & I PJ’s Thai Corner

Best Vegetarian Restaurant FOX AND FIG

FINALISTS

Kayak Cafe Shuk

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

SAIGON BISTRO

FINALISTS

Le Banh Cafe

Best Wait Staff

ARDSLEY STATION

FINALISTS

The Olde Pink House Green Truck Neighborhood Pub

Best Wine Selection ARDSLEY STATION

FINALISTS

Savannah Tasting Room Common Restaurant

Best Wings 520 WINGS

FINALISTS

Coach’s Corner Ardsley Station

TOP ROW (L-R): Hirano’s, Rancho Allegre, Chiriya’s. BOTTOM ROW (L-R): Al Salaam Deli, Big Bon Bodega, Vic’s on the River

Peregrin Rooftop Bar at the Perry Lane Hotel

Best Escape Room

THE ESCAPE COMPANY

FINALIST

Encryption

Best Happy Hour

POUR LARRY’S BAR

FINALISTS

Ardsley Station

Sorry Charlie’s

Best Hotel

JW MARRIOTT

PLANT RIVERSIDE

FINALISTS

Perry Lane

The Alida

The Drayton Hotel

Best Hotel Bar

PEREGRIN

ROOFTOP AT THE PERRY LANE HOTEL

FINALISTS

Electric Moon Skytop Lounge + Moon Deck |

Plant Riverside District Bar Julian |The Thompson

Best Local Beer On Tap Selection

CRYSTAL BEER

PARLOR

FINALISTS

Two Tides Brewing Co.

World of Beer

Best Local Brewery

TWO TIDES

BREWING COMPANY

FINALISTS

Service Brewing

Moon River Brewing Company

Best Local Drag Queen RED @RED_FOR_ FILTH

FINALISTS

Malcriada

Sallie Just Sallie - Club One

Best Local Spirits Distiller HOP ATOMICA

Best Local Wine Shop

HABERSHAM

BEVERAGE

FINALISTS

Johnnie Ganem’s

Savannah Wine Cellar

Best Margarita BULL STREET TACO

FINALISTS

Jalapeños Mexican Grill

Pour Larry’s Bar

Best Martini

Best Outdoor Bar

STARLAND YARD

FINALISTS

Huc-A-Poos • Peregrin

Best Overall Bar

POUR LARRY’S BAR

FINALISTS

Club One • Ardsley Station

Best Sommelier

LIBBY BURKE

FINALISTS

Lucian Bone

Lindsey Doughtery -

Johnnie Ganem’s Tim - The Grey

Best Southside Bar

TAILGATE

FINALISTS

Jerry’s Lounge

Spanky’s Southside

Best Specials Beer Shop

HABERSHAM

BEVERAGE

FINALISTS

Johnnie Ganem’s White Whale Craft Ales

Best Performance Troupe

DOWNTOWN

DELILAHS

FINALISTS

Savannah Sweet Tease Club One

Best Pub Crawl

SAVANNAH SLOW

RIDE

FINALISTS

Yes Queen Tour St. Practice Day

Best River Street Bar

THE WAREHOUSE

FINALISTS

Best Sports Bar

COACH’S CORNER

FINALISTS

Pour Larry’s Bar

Bogeys Sports Bar & Mini Golf

Best Starland District Bar

LONE WOLF LOUNGE

FINALISTS

The Yard Bar at Starland Yard

Ardsley Station

Best Trivia Night

MIDTOWN SPORTS AND GRILL

Best Irish Pub

MCDONOUGH’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

FINALISTS

O’Connell’s Irish Pub

The Rail Pub

Best Karaoke

MCDONOUGH’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

FINALISTS

Club One

The Rail Pub

LULU’S CHOCOLATE BAR

FINALISTS

Jen’s & Friends

Ardsley Station

Best New Bar

BAR JULIAN

FINALISTS

Waterwitch Tiki Bar

Colleagues & Lovers

Best Scottish Pub MOLLY

MACPHERSON’S

Electric Moon Bar Julian

Best Rooftop Bar

PEREGRIN

FINALISTS

Electric Moon • Bar Julian

Best Savannah Cocktail

GUMMY WORM

DRINK - POUR

LARRY’S

FINALISTS

Station Old FashionedArdsley Station

Lone Wolf Lounge

FINALISTS

Starland Yard

Service Brewing Co.

Best Upscale Bar

PEACOCK LOUNGE

FINALISTS

Mata Hari’s Speakeasy Alley Cat

Best Wine Bar

SOBREMESA WINE LOUNGE

FINALISTS

Late Air 208 Wine Bar

“OVER 20 YEARS AND MORE THAN TWO MILLION SMILES!”

Best All-Around Musician

CYRIL DURANT

FINALISTS

Victor Solis

Abigail Crafton

Best Blues Group/Artist

SOAP

FINALISTS

Eric Culberson

Voodoo Soup

Best Local Album of 2022

THE HOLY GHOST

TABERNACLE CHOIR: SLOW MURDER

FINALISTS

Saeed Edwards: COSMIC

CJ the DJ: 9

Best Local Americana/ Folk/ Roots Band/ Artist

SOAP

FINALISTS

Jason Bible

The Boondockers

Best Local Club DJ

CJ THE DJ

FINALISTS

Annalxg

DJ Will Smith

NOSEBLEEEEED

MUSIC

Best Local Concert

CHRISTMAS AT THE CATHEDRAL

FINALISTS

Savannah Jazz Festival

Phil the Park

Best Local Country Band/ Artist

COLE GOODWIN

FINALISTS

S’villes

Damon and the Shitkickers

Best Local Funk/ R&B/ Soul Group/ Artist

JD MUSIC GROUP

FINALISTS

Saeed Edwards

TGLIVE

Best Local Hip-Hop/ Rap Artist

VP DA STREET SCHOLAR (CREFLO)

FINALISTS

Quando Rondo

TGLIVE

Best Local Metal Band

THE HOLY GHOST

TABERNACLE CHOIR

FINALISTS

Girlfriend from Hell Black Tusk

Best Local Punk Band

MANAROVS

FINALISTS

The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir

Girlfriend from Hell

Best Local Rock Band/ Artist

SOAP

FINALISTS

Keystone Postcard

The Holy Ghost

Tabernacle Choir

Best Local Vocalist

JILLIAN DURANT

FINALISTS

Best Local Electronic/ EDM artist/ Band

BERO BERO

FINALISTS

Pink Peugeot

NOSEBLEEEEED

Best Local Jazz Band/ Artist

LAIKEN WILLIAMS

FINALISTS

Paul Kempkes - Dr. K

The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra

Becky Solis

Laiken Williams

Best Singer/ Songwriter

CYRIL DURANT

FINALISTS

Victor Solis

Laiken Williams

BEST LOCAL THEATER DIRECTOR

JOHN TAYLOR TIMMONS

BEST LOCAL THEATER PRODUCTION

THE SAVANNAH UNDERGROUND

BEST LOCAL PODCAST

THE MOST HAUNTED CITY ON EARTH

The Savannah Underground brings one of the most haunted cities in the world to life in their immersive theater experience that promises terror—with the audience right in the middle of the action.

The team of Savannah natives aims to frighten and entertain visitors, while at the same time provide the audience with a deeper look at the dark side of the city in a brand new way.

“It’s a 360 degree set and its dark all around as the stories unfold. People are always looking over their shoulder. They’re taken back in time to another world,” said writer and co-owner John Taylor Timmons.

Timmons has always had a love for horror, and ever since experiencing The London Dungeon when he was young, Timmons knew he wanted to create an experience that was just as immersive.

He took what he called “the single-most mind blowing experience and theatrical experience I ever had,” his love for horror, and his time at the Florida State Univ. School of Theatre, to build a show that he wanted to see come to life in Savannah.

In mid-2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Timmons wrote “The Savannah Underground” while he was self-isolating at home with his wife Madison, also a co-owner.

“My wife is a Savannah historian ghost extraordinaire, and she’s the one with the knowledge of the stories. She’s sensitive to the

paranormal. That’s why she was so interested in it before she met me and it worked so well when we came together,” he said.

In the show, audiences are taken on a variety of journeys, including on a haunting tale of the yellow fever, the hag from the Gullah Geechee culture, and an exorcism that promises to have the crowd locked in terror.

Co-founder Kewaan Drayton says The Savannah Underground was founded in 2020 because he felt like Savannah’s spooky scene needed something fresh and new.

“I gauge how I respond to different attractions and experiences in Savannah,” Drayton said. “Walking tours never really did it for me. Trolly tours, ghost tours, they never hit the nail on

the head for me. I wanted to create something where people can get the history; they can get scared; they can have fun.”

For Drayton, that meant literally surrounding audiences with Savannah’s haunted past. With top-notch actors, excellent costume designs, and a whole lot of Holy water, The Savannah Underground is completely immersive and guaranteed to spook.

If that was not enough from the creators, they also started a podcast that takes a deep dive into the very tales and experiences that keep our city of Savannah the most haunted city in America.

The podcast is called, “The Most Haunted City on Earth: A Podcast About Keeping Savannah’s Dead, Alive.”

The show is hosted by paranormal expert Chris Soucy, and paranormal investigator Madison Timmons and they discuss Savannah’s creepiest legends, crimes, and haunted places.

“We were all sitting talking about ghosts in Savannah’s history and one day we thought why don’t we just put microphones in front of our faces and as a filmmaker I thought we might as well film it,” said Timmons.

Thanks to the social app TikTok, their podcast has taken off. People would share clips, and that boosted listeners to the podcast. They now have about 40 thousand downloads a month according to Timmons.

- Emily Dietrich and Staff Reports

MEDIA

Best Local Influencer ADAYINTHELIFEOFKORRI KORRI RAY

FINALISTS

Mike Hostilo LOLA @paoayaq

Best Local Instagram Account RILEY MILLER

FINALISTS

Mike Hostilo Law Firm @paoayaq

Best Local Podcast

THE MOST HAUNTED CITY ON EARTH

FINALISTS

Santa Maybe, a Criminal WTOC First Alert Weather

Best Local Radio Station I-95 ROCK OF SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

WRUU 107.5 FM 98.7 The River

Best Local TikTok ADAYINTHELIFEOFKORRI

FINALISTS

Savannah Bananas Image Is Everything Nail Bar

Best Local TV Commercial THE BUZZ: MIKE HOSTILO LAW FIRM

FINALISTS

AreYou64.com - Chip Lewis

O.C. Welch

Best Local TV Meteorologist JONATHAN MYERS

FINALISTS

Andrew Gorton

Jamie Ertle

Best Local TV News Anchor RILEY MILLER

FINALISTS

Emma Hamilton

Dawn Baker

Best Local TV Sports Anchor FRANK SULKOWSKI

FINALISTS

Amy Zimmer

Chad Maxwell

Best Local TV Station WJCL

FINALISTS

WTOC • WSAV

Best Local Twitter Account @MIKEHOSTILO

FINALISTS @AndrewGortonWx @TheBigGuyWJCL

Best Local Website ANNE HORNE

FINALISTS

Mike Hostilo Law Firm

Savannah Master Calendar

Best Radio Personality LARRY DANE-KELLOGG

FINALISTS

Mia Mance • CJ the DJ

Best Local News Broadcast WTOC

FINALISTS

WJCL • WSAV

Best Local Facebook Page ACCIDENTS & FIRE & ROAD CLOSURES FOR CHATHAM CO & SURROUNDING COUNTIES

FINALISTS

Mike Hostilo Law Firm Shop Small/Support Local - Effingham, Bryan, and Chatham County

RILEY MILLER, WJCL

Summer Concert Series

BEST VISUAL ARTIST TAMARA GARVEY

BY BETH LOGAN

I meet Tamara Garvey in her sunny, whitewashed brick City Market studio, directly above Vinnie Van GoGo’s.

After three years of working fulltime from home, the upbeat Garvey took a leap of faith in March to lease the light-filled, airy corner space for a year.

“It was a very spur of the moment decision. I’m pretty introverted, and it hit me that I really have too much alone-time.”

Despite describing herself as an introvert, Garvey has a friendly, broad

smile and a warm and supportive regard for her fellow Savannah creatives; Last July she did not hesitate to take over Rob Hessler’s WRUU 107.5FM radio broadcast “Art on the Air.”

Garvey has broadened Hessler’s original reach to include not only artists, but also musicians and authors (hence the new name, “Art(s) on the Air”). You can catch her live broadcasts on the first and third Wednesdays of the month or stream all podcasts on Spotify or Apple.

“Even if it’s someone you already know a little bit, everybody says something profound or interesting,” she says, “You learn a lot.”

Garvey was born in Albany, Georgia, and grew up both there and in Maryland, outside of DC. She earned a degree in biology

“I thought maybe I was going to be a doctor...” from the University of Mary Washington in VA.

“Then I had a couple of years of working in the post-911 economy before deciding to go back to school.

I was taking a weekend Saturday art class in DC and hating my fulltime job, so I put everything on pause and enrolled in SCAD.”

She graduated SCAD in 2008 with a BFA in Illustration, and quickly started selling her “quirky, cheerful, and whimsical” pen and ink art and illustrations of people, pets, and Savannah scenes.

“At the time, the Telfair still had their Art Fair on the square in the fall. I did that for a couple of years, sold some pieces, and won an Honorable Mention award. That really gave me the confidence to move to New York and try to make a living as an artist.”

She lived in NYC from 2010 to 2017, had a full-time job for the first three years, but subsequently supported herself by selling work at the many weekend craft fairs throughout the city, mostly on the Lower East Side.

“I did have this amazing experience where one day I was selling on the street in SoHo and Adam Sandler came up. He was wearing a baseball cap and going for coffee and bagels. He stopped at my table, and he bought a bunch of prints. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking when I ran his credit card, and then we chatted about Savannah because he’d recently been here filming. I didn’t get a photo with him, so you’ll just have to take my word for it!”

Garvey continues, “I always intended to come back to Savannah. I loved it here, but I just wanted a bigger city experience for a while. When I moved back I was 37 and just at that point where you realize that if you’re not super-wealthy in a big city, it’s extremely hard. I moved back in 2017 and bought a condo and now I’m real dug-in.”

We talk about her receiving a 2020 COVID-relief grant from Georgia’s prestigious Judith Alexander Foundation, and about the wonderful post-pandemic show she organized at ARTS Southeast’s Sulfur Studios in

October of 2021, when she reunited with fellow SCAD graduates Matt Hebermehl, Katherine Agurcia and Lee Ashburn for the first time since they were all waiting tables at Lady & Sons…

“We had a show together in 2008 in the space above B. Matthews. Each of us had a room, it was boiling hot, so much fun, and the recently deceased Keith Kozel DJ’d.”

The 2021 reunion exhibition, cleverly named “4 Top,” highlighted Garvey’s florals inspired by walks taken during lockdown.

Much larger in size than her previous works on paper, she says, “during COVID we were encouraged to be in nature, and I started a series of different flowers which all have lines of poetry or factoids buried in them.” Each piece is named after a poet and was inspired by how nature resurged during the pandemic when there was so little car traffic and pollution. The individual flowers are delicate and transitory, but nature rejuvenates every year and can’t be smited.”

The floral paintings reference both the resiliency of our planet and of the artist in the face of COVID and incorporate her love of linework mixed with abstract washes. She uses the three mediums employed in her smaller works on paper and in her notecards: ink, that she dips into with “an old-fashioned pen,” acrylic paint, and “gold leaf for fun.”

COVID was not only responsible for Garvey’s new floral paintings, but also for increased online sales.

“I would sell at least one original painting a month through my website which NEVER happened before that.” She adds, with a laugh, “The only inquiries prior to COVID were clearly spam like, ‘Hello kind sir, my wife is looking for an art.’”

Along with fellow Savannah artists Jose Ray (see my Sept.,2021 column) and Stacie Jean Albano (see my April, 2022 column), her paintings of daffodils, cherry blossoms, azaleas and other blooms will be featured in a floral show at the Grand Bohemian Gallery in Charleston. Curated by Katie Stanton Melendez, former assistant to Carmen Aguirre, director of the former Grand Bohemian Gallery at the Mansion on Forsyth, work hangs through the end of June with an opening reception on Friday, May 12.

“The other thing I’ll have this summer is a solo show at The Gallery Espresso [234 Bull Street] during July and August.”

Two days a month Garvey can be found at Gallery 209 (winner of Best Art Gallery!) at 209 East River St., where she is a partner. And she is a regular vendor at arts and crafts fairs in Savannah (such as the Isle of Hope Art Fair in October) and around the State (I chatted with her at Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden at last September’s Finster Fest).

Of course, you can find her working most days between 10 - 3 pm (except Tuesdays and Saturdays) at her City Market studio, and you can view her work anytime at TamaraGarvey.com, and on Instagram @tamgarv.

Her notecards are sold in numerous stores throughout Savannah, including E. Shaver Booksellers and at Wormsloe Historic Site.

OPPOSITE: “Wormsloe, Live Oaks Avenue” contains the messages “Trunks were used to make ships” and “There are over 400 Live Oaks, 1.5 miles long.” THIS PAGE (Clockwise from top): Garvey in her studio. A painting from her popular old-time burglar series is over her left shoulder). PRINTS: Cherry Blossoms. Cotton Candy Sunset.

Third edition of Unique Design X Savannah at Trustees’ Garden brings global showcase of art and collectible design to the local community

Founded in 2019, Unique Design X Group is a commercial boutique design fair that promotes collectible design to an international community of artists, galleries, collectors, enthusiasts and institutions.

With shows in Shanghai, Paris, Miami and Savannah, Unique Design X Group is dedicated to propagating collectible design globally while fostering innovation and creativity through multicultural exchanges. It’s the first nomadic platform of its kind and soon, it will return to the Hostess City for its third local edition.

Over the course of five days, collectible design will take center stage at Trustees’ Garden. Unique Design X Savannah will engage the public with exciting and dynamic events and experiences. The event is meant to be inclusive, providing several touchpoints to make functional art accessible to broad swaths of the local community.

In previous editions, Unique Design X Savannah has offered an indoor curated collectible design show with creators, their representative galleries, an outdoor element in the form of a Skate-able Object Park designed by an important artist in collaboration with Tony Hawk’s Skatepark Project, and a series of live-streaming events and activations, all in partnership with Morris Multimedia Inc.

This year, attendees can look forward to multidisciplinary works from an international group of gifted artists and designers alongside their representative galleries that will blur the lines between art and function. Art aficionados and inquisitive minds alike can enjoy everything this curated experience has to offer.

Unique Design X Group founder and CEO Morgan Morris Sans recently corresponded with Connect Savannah about the upcoming event.

What is Unique Design X Group?

Unique Design X Group is a nomadic femalefounded commercial platform that celebrates the beauty of art, collectible design and the vibrant community of artists and galleries that bring it to life. Our mission is to cultivate a salon where functional art, collectible design, and skate cultures intersect harmoniously, inspiring innovation, creativity, and multicultural exchanges.

We have successfully launched eight editions of Unique Design X in major cities such as Shanghai, Paris, Miami, and Savannah, and will soon launch events in Los Angeles and Mexico City. Our mission is to champion diversity and a cross-pollination of ideas within the art and design world while also prioritizing sustainability. We are committed to promoting eco-friendly practices within the creative industry and strive to showcase creators who

prioritize sustainable materials and production methods.

Why did you start Unique Design X?

Unique Design X was started as a new model for an art & design fair to redirect funding from excessive non-eco friendly production and logistics costs towards a reinvestment in creativity, innovation and basically to give a voice to youth, diversity, the creators and the ecosystem of their market representatives. We launched our first event, Unique Design X Shanghai, in November 2019, at the Shanghai Tank Space Museum in partnership with Modern Media Group and the Westbund Art Fair, and have since produced eight editions in five major cities.

What is collectible design and how does Unique Design X Group make it accessible?

Collectible design or rather “functional art” are art objects born of crossovers between the fields of art, design, fashion and architecture primarily made by artists in very limited edition or as unique pieces. Collectible design can be termed “accessible” due to the fact that its community is not insular nor exclusive and is open and attractive to people from different cultures, backgrounds and ages.

What will Unique Design X Savannah 2023 entail?

This year, Unique Design X Savannah 2023 will have two focus sections with an impressive selection of Asian and African contemporary collectible design, as well as our selection of collectible design galleries.

We are also delighted to welcome two galleries and their artists from Georgia: Co-Op Gallery from Atlanta showing the artist Brent Warr who recently relocated back from New York to his hometown in Bainbridge, Georgia where he bought the local train station in order to bring in his team from New York and set up his studio as well as Southern Pine Company, which will host the Southern Pine “lifestyle lounge” with many creators of collectible design from the Southeast region.

Additionally, attendees can look forward to experiencing an innovative outdoor skate park designed by Yinka Ilori, an internationally renowned artist from Nigeria based in London, UK.

For the opening night festivities, the good times are assured as we team up with our friends at Bourbon & Blues for a very special evening of incredible cocktails and live blues.

The excitement continues as we launch a new initiative of a series of special music performances produced by our incredible partner LIVE AT THE PRINT SHOP from Atlanta. Keep your eyes open as it will be free and announced shortly, in limited edition — just like the artworks — for the first few hundred people who click on the link. Stay tuned!

How many participating artists are involved this year?

Unique Design X Savannah’s third edition at Trustees’ Garden will feature 20 artists and 11 galleries from India, Japan, Korea, China, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Denmark, Mexico, France, UK/Nigeria and the USA all working between art, design and craft.

Will you be partnering with SCAD for the forum again this year?

SCAD is such an incredible institution, and we are so fortunate to have them as our partner here in Savannah. During the first two editions of Unique Design X Savannah, SCAD was our forum partner as well as being one of our participants last year. This year, we will host a special training internship with SCAD students on how to produce an art and design fair.

What are you most excited about for this year’s event?

Returning to my beautiful hometown for our third edition!

Why should people attend Unique Design X Savannah?

To experience, explore, enjoy and discover creative visions around art and collectible design from abroad as well as right here in the Southeast.

Unique Design X Savannah will take place June 1-4 at the Kehoe Iron Works at Trustees’ Garden, which is located at 660 E Broughton St. For more information, visit uniquedesignxgroup.com

MORGAN MORRIS SANS INTERVIEWS BRENT WARR: A Unique Talent for Art & Collectible Design from Georgia

You were born and raised in Bainbridge, Ga. What inspirations and goals took you to New York City to launch your career?

I knew I wanted to get out of the Southeast to grow and expand my world view and to learn about the world of design. To be honest, I just needed a change. Living in the same small town for 18 years, I wanted to challenge myself to meet new people, think differently, and learn about myself.

How would you describe your practice and how it is positioned between the fine lines of art and collectible design?

My practice could be described as unconventional and amusing. We don’t like to take things too seriously and like to produce work that makes people smile while starting a conversation. Some of my body of work is built from the ground up, but a vast majority of my new work is built on existing turn of the 20th century Victorian furniture. There is an element of sustainability in my practice, and what excites me is getting to take something that new generations have deemed as old and of a bygone era and turning it into a functional art piece that is fresh and exciting.

What new inspirations and perspectives are you finding now that you have returned to South Georgia? Has this return to your home state given you fresh advantages in your practice?

One of the unique parts of moving back to Bainbridge is twofold. The first is getting to purchase an old train warehouse built in 1902 that is slowly being converted into my studio as well as rentable retail and artist studios. This has allowed me to grow and expand the amount and scale of work I am producing. Secondly are materials. Being in South Georgia you have access to beautiful wood species and rock types that aren’t found anywhere else in the US. This has allowed me to create some unique pieces that I would not have been able to procure if my studio was elsewhere in the US. For example, we just produced (2) lounge chairs made from a solid red oak tree that fell on a friend’s piece of property for Cult Gaia’s new flagship in Soho, NYC.

What are your starting points for the concepts behind your functional art pieces?

I usually start most of my concepts by sketching on pieces of plywood, scrap paper, or even in my notes app on my phone haha. Some may then get mocked up or put into a rendering software to analyze design language and proportions, but a good bit of my work I just will have a napkin sketch and then start building.

How does the free flow of crossovers between craftsmanship, art, and design give you liberty and inspiration in your practice?

Constant flux and imbalance of these three facets allow me to lean heavier into one or the

other. Emphasis on that one idea allows me to experiment and have freedom to create a new piece. Each of these all interact with each other freely and allow designs to produce a narrative that may not have been realized otherwise.

Are you focusing primarily on limited edition and/or unique pieces?

My current body of work focuses primarily on collectible or one-of-a-kind editioned pieces. However, I do have standing collection items that are numbered but aren’t considered a limited-edition piece. I am actually releasing a new lighting collection this summer that will be a standing collection item.

Would you prefer to call yourself an artist or a designer?

I would call myself an artist due to the fact I am producing work with my own hands, and it yields a finished tangible piece. However, I would also consider myself a designer. Especially when it comes to art direction, planning, and collaboration with clients or other artists. I don’t believe that each title is mutually exclusive. I believe somewhere in the middle is where the most successful projects live.

How do you find the new collectible art and design market momentum in the Southeast?

It’s very exciting! I think it is a market that will slowly expand and grow in the next 5-10 years

in the Southeast. This is a very new and niche market that is slowly permeating from NYC, Los Angeles, and Europe to the South, and I think it will take a bit of time to gain traction and reception in the Southeast. However, it is thrilling to be a small part of the local community that is trying to make that happen.

I believe a lot of people view that working artists must live in large metropolitan areas to have a career and I’m very proud to be back in the south, in my hometown of Bainbridge, Georgia creating work that maybe not everyone understands. I think what is amazing about the collectible art and design market is that it starts conversations as well as shows people furniture, lighting, and sculpture can all be collected just like fine art that hangs on a wall.

Please tell us about what you will be showing at Unique Design X Savannah @ Trustees’ Garden?

I will be showing a new body of work that includes a new collectible table lamp, one of a kind sofa, one of a kind lounge chair and stool set, new Breakout vases, and a new candelabra series. The sofa, lounge, and footstool were created by using bases of turn of the 20th century Victorian furniture that permeated throughout much of the Southeast at that time. I have brought new life and a new narrative to pieces that echo back to times past of gathering and conversation.

- Morgan Morris

BRENT WARR photographed in Miami, FL | @ brent.warr

Please tell us about yourself and your background and how you were drawn to the beautiful city of Savannah?

I was drawn to the city of Savannah by a very powerful and overwhelming desire Is to be able to make a difference in what was then identified as the Victorian District.

The enormous amount of neglect and abandonment ,to much of the amazing architecturally significant structures (mostly beautiful houses), was alarming and at risk from wholesale decay and demolition ,which had already started.

I purchased 209 West Bolton and immediately began the restoration process. My academic and “in the workplace” experience of Industrial engineering and management was a natural Fit for the job at hand.

Upon moving into the house and getting acquainted with my neighbors, who were mostly black, many young, work-ready and semi-skilled, made a local labor force of craftsman and women that helped start rebuilding their own streets and environment by putting as many properties back together as possible here, starting in 1980.

When did you found Southern Pine Co and what was your primary mission at the outset?

Referring to your previous question, and in the pursuit of renovating structures with like-kind materials Southern Pine Company partnered with companies like HoneyBear Wrecking (still in business) because not only were perfectly great houses being demolished, materials were being thrown into the landfills. So de-construction and or dumpster-diving turned into a full-time endeavor.

What particular inspirations and perspectives did you find in Savannah?

Specifically the potential of reversing the downslide of the Victorian District that I felt could be as viable and livable as the Historic had become. I knew I could, by my own investment, inspire others to help provide affordable living, and a lifestyle in restored existing structures (not new), and providing a sustainable, walkable, accessible environment.

You are known as a federator of creative talent, giving opportunities to musicians, artists and writers to express the crossovers in their various practices through alternative channels. How has your path in life brought you to this magnificent passion?

I’ve always been fascinated with the co-existence ,and the possible uses of industrial properties located in residential neighborhoods, however the actual brick and mortar is only part of the equation.

Savannah, at it’s core, continuing through today, has a prolific literary, art and music scene, along with building and architecture, so it follows that an incubator would need to be right around every corner.

What are the starting points for the concepts behind your functional art pieces and how do you work with local craftsmen to create them?

The artists and designers’ starting points are with the materials that are at hand, indigenous and meaningful to Savannah’s history.

How do the crossovers between upcycling, recuperation, craftsmanship, and art give you and your team opportunities to work on unique projects for hotels and property developers?

The emerging groups of developers are imaginative and are always looking for something unique and –

RAMSEY KHALIDI:

INSPIRED BY SAVANNAH TO BUILD, UPCYCLE, RECONTEXTUALIZE AND PRESERVE

Morgan Morris Sans interviews Ramsey Khalidi, founder of Southern Pine Company

coincidentally–doing the right thing and being sustainable at the same time. So basically I put everybody together with their respective skill sets to keep it going to the next level.

Are you focusing primarily on limited edition and/or piece unique?

Whether we are doing a limited edition for a collection or a one of prototype... The baseline requirement is to work with whatever is local, but with a global message.

How do you find the new collectible art and design market momentum in the Southeast?

Wow, well, art and design seems to be proliferating in pockets of major creative centers such as Austin, TX, Savannah, Athens, GA,.. And the magic seems to be the connectivity.

Please tell us about what you will be showing at Unique Design X Savannah at Trustees’ Garden?

My first visit to Unique Design X last year was a validation of everything that we should all strive for and to be a part of in any possible way.

It is both global and local at the same time. It is in buildings and environments that have been saved, and it can be inspiring for a wave of change that started in mid 20th century, and we called it modern.

I believe that Unique Design X is a bellwether to the future of economics and empowerment that can continue to benefit all the people who are supporting the creators which, in turn, gives us all an independence worth living for.

What you will be seeing this year is what the collaborative known as Southern Pine Company Ga., 1899, and what it has created with objects for a lifestyle crafted from regional materials diverted from the landfills.

PHOTOS: INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR OF SOUTHERN PINE CO. BY DAVID PÉREZ CAVIEDES

Best Allergist BRUCE D. FINKEL, MD - MEMORIAL HEALTH

FINALISTS

David S. Oliver, MD, FACSCoastal ENT

Brad Goodman, MDCoastal Allergy & Asthma

Best Cardiologist AKINNIRAN ABISOGUN, MD, FACC, RPVISOUTHCOAST HEALTH

FINALISTS

Pablo Elizalde, MDMemorial Health

Dale P. Daly, MDMemorial Health

Best Chiropractor DR. PHILLIP DAYDAY CHIROPRACTIC SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Dr. Kaleb ScrogginRestoration Chiropractic

Dr. Chris WhelanWhelan Chiropractic

Best Dental Hygienist LINDSAY

STEWARTASPEN DENTAL

FINALISTS

Isabel Jiran, RDHMark N. Dye, DMD, LLC

Brooke Hernandez

Best Dentist JASON HOWARD, DMDHOWARD FAMILY DENTAL

FINALISTS

Andrew T. Cupp, DMD - Southern Dental Center

Felix T. Maher, DMD - General Dentistry

Best Dermatologist DR. CORINNE HOWINGTONLOW COUNTRY

DERMATOLOGY AND AESTHETICS

FINALISTS

Tonya Lewis McCullough, MD, FAAD - Chatham Dermatology

Josepha Bueno Devaro, MD - Coastal Dermatology

Best Functional Medicine

REBECCA HART - FAITH, HOPE & WELLNESS

FINALISTS

GeorgAnna Wiley - Rebirth Holistic Women’s Health

Latasha Wright BCHHP

Best Gastroenterologist

MARK E. MURPHY, MD - CENTER FOR DIGESTIVE & LIVER HEALTH

FINALISTS

William L. Mansour, MD - Gastroenterology

Consultants of Savannah, P.C.

Mark R. Nyce, MD - Center for Digestive & Liver Health

Best Hospice Organization HOSPICE SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

GHC Hospice - Savannah Spanish Oaks Hospice

Best Hospital ST. JOSEPH’S/ CANDLER HOSPITAL

FINALISTS

Memorial Health Savannah Children’s Hospital

Best Local Pharmacy LO COST PHARMACY

FINALISTS

Georgetown Drug Company Quick Rx Whitemarsh

Best Mental Health Agency HEADS UP GUIDANCE SERVICE

FINALISTS

Shrink Savannah C. Williams & Associates, LLC

Best Nurse (TIE)

MARY RICHARDSCANDLER

MEAGAN RUEHLING

- FAMILY NURSE

PRACTITIONER AT URGENT CARE OF BERWICK

FINALIST

Courtney Catania

Best OB/GYN (TIE)

ALAN E. SMITH, MD, FACOG - SAVANNAH OBGYN, P.C. DR. ANDREW

TUCKER, OB/GYNMY TELFAIR DOC

FINALIST

Joe Edwards MDSavannah ObGyn, P.C.

Best Occupational Therapist

OLIVIA CHESTER, OTD - SONSHINE THERAPY

FINALISTS

Samantha Letson Kristen VanVleck, OTD, OTR/L - Pediatric Rehabilitation and Wellness

Best Ophthalmologist MARK MANOCHA, MD - GEORGIA EYE INSTITUTE

FINALISTS

Dr. John M. Devaro, MDChildren’s Eye Institute of Savannah

Jennifer Bromley, MDGeorgia Eye Institute

Best Optometrist

CAROLINE FREEMAN, OD - SAVANNAH FAMILY EYE CARE

FINALISTS

Erika Morrow, ODForSight Unique Eye Care & Eye Wear

Joshua Holmes, ODBoland Eye Center

Best Oral Surgeon

PAUL M. HINCHEY DMD MD - CHATHAM ORAL SURGERY

FINALISTS

Dr. Michael Wilson, DMDChatham Oral Surgery

Dr. Alfred E. Pesto Jr., DMD - Southeastern Oral Associates

Best Orthodontist/ Practice

CHRISTOPHER

DELEON, DMDBRODERICK, DUSEK & DELEON ORTHO

FINALISTS

Innovative Orthodontics

Robert A. Vaught, DMD, MSD - Vaught Orthodontics

Best Orthopedist EVAN M. SIEGALL, MD - CHATHAM ORTHOPAEDICS

FINALISTS

John T. Prather, MDChatham Orthopaedics

Dr. Dow Hoffman, Chatham Orthopedics

Best Pediatric Dentistry DOGWOOD PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

FINALISTS

Pediatric Dentistry of Sav. Dr. Erika Finch - Kid’s Dentistree

Best Pediatrician

BEN SPITALNICK, MD, FAAPPEDIATRIC ASSOC. OF SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Dudley Stone, MD Keith M. Seibert, MD, MBA, FAAP

Best Primary Care Physician

YULIANTY KUSUMA, MD FACP - INTERNAL MEDICINE OF SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Kristen A. Updegraff, MDSouthCoast Health

Paul Bradley, MD - Savii Health

Best Psychiatrist

CHAD BROCK, MDSHRINK SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Kevin Winders, MDLifeStance Health

Arnold F. Negrin Psychiatry

Best Psychologist BRANDY ZINN, LPC

FINALISTS

Nina Kennedy - Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT Jaclynn Kuchta, PhD

Best Psychotherapist

Best Urgent Care EXPERCARE

FINALISTS

Coastal Care Partners

Chatham Orthopaedics

Urgent Care of Berwick

Best Vision Center

GEORGIA EYE INSTITUTE

FINALISTS

Savannah Family Eye Care

ForSight Unique Eye Care & Eye Wear

Best Pharmacist

LAURA BRODMANNQUICK RX

FINALISTS

Beau Kessler - Quick Rx

Neal Hollis - Georgetown Drug Company

Best Physical Therapist

KAYLA CULLENY PT, DPT, MTC CERT DN - CORA PHYSICAL THERAPY

FINALISTS

Brandi Sauers, PT, DPT - Southland Pediatric Therapy

Chloé Parsemain, PT, DPTOptim Orthopedics

Best Physical Therapy Ctr.

CORA PHYSICAL

THERAPY - POOLER

FINALISTS

Sonshine Therapy

Southland Pediatric Therapy

BRANDY ZINN, LPC, PMH-C

FINALISTS

Lindsay Tucker, LPC

Linton F. Hester, LPC, CPCS

Best Sleep Specialist

JAMES A. DALY III -

SOUTHEAST LUNG ASSOCIATES

FINALISTS

Carlton R. Kemp, MDMemorial Health

Ryan B. Moody - Southeast Lung Associates

Best Speech Therapist

NICOLE PRESCOTT, M.S. CCC-SLP

- SONSHINE THERAPY

FINALISTS

Karli Cannon, MS, CCCSLP - Savannah Speech & Hearing Center, Fox Rehab

Bethany Manning -

Sonshine Therapy

Best Veterinarian ALLISON WITHEROW, DVM

FINALISTS

Dr. Jeremy Faris - Port City Animal Hospital

Mahany Jeffrey C DVM

Best Veterinary Clinic

ALLISON ANIMAL CARE

FINALISTS

Port City Animal Hospital

Islands Veterinary Clinic

Best Women’s Health Center

SAVANNAH OB/GYN

FINALISTS

Mary Telfair Women’s Hospital

Coastal Imaging and The Center for Women’s Health

Urgent Care of Berwick 5730 Ogeechee Road , Suite 192

Savannah, Georgia 31405

Urgent Care of Midtown 310 Eisenhower Dr, Suite 12A

Savannah, Georgia 31406

Urgent Care of Sandfly 7360 Skidaway Rd, L2

Urgent Care of Wilmington Island 212 Johnny Mercer Blvd

Savannah, Georgia 31410

Savannah, Georgia 31406 310 Eisenhower Dr, Suite 12A

Savannah, Georgia 31406 (Any

HOME & LIFESTYLE SERVICES

Best Apartment Community

OLYMPUS FENWICK

LUXURY APARTMENT HOMES

FINALISTS

The Bowery Skylark

Best Automotive Repair

HOME TOWN AUTO CARE

FINALISTS

Step One Automotive Integrity Auto Repair

Best Bank

UNITED COMMUNITY

FINALISTS

Queensborough National Bank & Trust

First Chatham

Best Car Wash (TIE)

NORTHERN LIGHTS

AUTO DETAILING

SHINY SHANE’S

AUTO DETAILING

FINALIST

Savannah Car Wash

Best Carpet Cleaning Service

JDOG

FINALISTS

Crystal Clear Cleaning DustBusters Carpet Cleaning

Best Commercial & Industrial Construction

THE PINYAN COMPANY

FINALISTS

Choate Construction Company

The Dewitt-Tilton Group

Best Computer Repair COMPUTER

ADVANTAGE

FINALISTS

Mouse Pad

Joe Shaffell -The Computer Wiz

Best Convenience Market/ Gas Station

PARKER’S KITCHEN/ FANCY PARKER’S

FINALISTS

Enmarket • Chu’s

Best Countertops COUNTER FITTERS

FINALISTS

IDF Granite Granite Depot Savannah

Best Credit Union NAVY FEDERAL

FINALISTS

Core Credit Union

Georgia’s Own

Best Electrician

MR. ELECTRIC

FINALISTS

Savannah Electric and Construction

Joyner Electric and Security

Best Fence Company

VETERANS FENCE AND SUPPLY

FINALISTS

JDH Decks and Fences

Coastal Contracting LLC

Dave Rotundo

Best Flooring Store

THE RUG SHOPPE

FINALISTS

Savannah Floor Covering Poppell Brothers

Best Frame Shop

SANDFLY CUSTOM

Best Dry Cleaner CURRY DRY CLEANERS

FINALISTS

The Best Dry Cleaners

Ardsley Park Cleaners

FRAMING

FINALISTS

Savannah Framing Company

Friedman’s Framing

Olympus Fenwick Luxury Apartment Homes

Best Funeral Home ADAMS FUNERAL HOME

FINALISTS

Fox and Weeks

Campbell & Sons

Best Furniture Store

WHELAN’S FURNITURE

FINALISTS

Clutter Furnishings & Interiors • Jones & Bull

Best Junk Removal Service

WON’T BASH YOUR TRASH

FINALISTS

JDog

Dumpster Dummies

Best Landscaping Company

CLOVER

LANDSCAPING

FINALISTS

Barrett Landscaping

Grow it We Mow it

Best Lawn & Garden Store

HERB CREEK

FINALISTS

Berwick Ace

Hester & Zipperer’s

Best Lighting Store

CIRCA LIGHTING

Best Local Interior Designer/ Design Firm

AMBER THENAMBER MARIE INTERIORS

FINALISTS

Bobby the Builder Tennyson Studio

Best Local Moving Company

MOVER DAN

SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

College Hunks

Best Mortgage Company

REVOLUTION

MORTGAGE

FINALISTS

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

BankSouth Mortgage

Best Painting Company

ARTISAN PAINTING

FINALISTS

Parkside Painters

Bobby the Builder

Best Pest Control YATES ASTRO

FINALISTS

Bee Green Pest Solutions

Pestmaster Services

Best Pet Daycare HAPPY HOUNDS

DOG TRAINING

Best Health Food Store BRIGHTER DAY

FINALISTS

Tier One Nutrition Provisions

Best Heating & Air Service

BOLTON AIR

FINALISTS

Savannah Air Factory Atlantic HVAC

Best Home Community ISLE OF HOPE

FINALISTS

The Landings

Ardsley Park

Mosswood Plantation at Berwick

Best Home Security Company

ADT

FINALISTS

Safe Touch Wright Security Systems

Best Information Technology Provider SPEROS

FINALISTS

Infinity, Inc. • TechHeads

FINALIST

Pace Lighting

Best Grocery Store

THE FRESH MARKET

FINALISTS

Jones Red and White Brighter Day

Best Local Home Remodelers

BOYCE’S HANDYMAN

SERVICES

FINALISTS

Bobby the Builder Coastal Contracting LLC

Best Local Homebuilder

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

FINALISTS

Bobby the Builder

Pioneer Construction

Best Local Insurance Agent

HAMMER

INSURANCE AGENCY

FINALISTS

Kelly Quesada

Southern Benefits Consulting

Best Maid Service SPARKLING QUEENS

FINALISTS

Hubbard’s Flip Flops N Mops

FINALISTS

Hipster Hound Club Fido

Best Pet Grooming Shop

THE SAVANNAH GROOM ROOM

FINALISTS

Dapper Dans

Woof Gang Bakery

Best Pet Supply Store

MUNCHIES BY MOE

JOE

FINALISTS

Bentley’s Pet Stuff

Woof Gang Bakery

Best Place for Tires

DISCOUNT TIRE

FINALISTS

Mavis Tire

Rutland Tires

Best Place to Buy a New Car STEP ONE

AUTOMOTIVE

FINALISTS

Chatham Parkway Toyota

Grainger Honda

J.C. Lewis Ford

Best Place to Buy a Used Car STEP ONE

AUTOMOTIVE

FINALISTS

CarMax

Grainger Honda

Best Plumber

HENRY PLUMBING

FINALISTS

Cochran Plumbing Company, LLC

Coastal Contracting, LLC

Best Pool Service Company

COASTAL POOL

MANAGEMENT

FINALISTS

Pride Pools

Clearwater Pools & Patios

Best Real Estate Company

CHELSEA PHILLIPS GROUP

FINALISTS

Ganem Realty

Engel & Völkers

Savannah

Best Realtor

CHELSEA PHILLIPS

FINALISTS

Caitlin Carter

Victoria Williams

Best Residential Property Management Company

COLLABORATIVE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

FINALISTS

South Key Management Yellow Door Homes

Best Roofing Company

GRASSI ROOFING

FINALISTS

Jimmy Jenkins Jr. Roofing

Coastal Contracting LLC

RPI Roofing

Best Self Storage STOP N STORE ON LIMERICK ST.

FINALISTS

Continental Self Storage 21 South Storage

Best Towing Service

GORDON’S

FINALISTS

Tim’s Towing and Recovery

Everready Recovery & Towing

Best Tree Care Company

ARBORMAN TREE SERVICE

FINALISTS

Herrington

Bartlett Tree Experts

912.438.6891 • PECKSPARTYEMPORIUM.COM 4 MAGNOLIA BLVD STE 200 PORT WENTWORTH, GA

BEST BALLOON STYLING

KIDS

Best Amusement Center

EXHILARATE SAVANNAH

FINALIST

Chuck E Cheese

Best Babysitting/ Nanny Service

COASTAL

NANNY AGENCY

FINALISTS

Ilene Hohnerlein

The Ivory Agency

Best Birthday Party Entertainer

HOPPING WITH HARKLEROAD INFLATABLES

FINALISTS

Five Zone Gaming Bus

Itsy Bitsy Princess Parties

Best Children’s Clothing Store

HIGH COTTON KIDs

FINALISTS

Once Upon a Child Mix it Match it

Best Family-Friendly Museum

SAVANNAH

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

FINALISTS

Tybee Marine Science Center

The Jepson Center for the Arts

Best Day Care

READY SET GROW EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY

FINALISTS

Little Blessyn’s Childcare Learning Center

Tiny Hands Big Hearts In-Home Childcare

Best Family Photographer

HILARY DUKE

PHOTOGRAPHY

FINALISTS

Jaden Giorgianni Photography

Michelle Holloway

Best Family Restaurant ROLY POLY

FINALISTS

Carey Hilliard’s Starland Yard

Best Private School

BLESSED

SACRAMENT CATHOLIC SCHOOL

FINALISTS

Savannah Christian Preparatory School

Calvary Day School

Best Public School

WOODVILLETOMPKINS

HIGH SCHOOL

FINALISTS

Savannah Arts Academy

Tybee Island Maritime Academy

Best Tutoring Company BE GLORIOUS LLC

FINALISTS

Mathnasium Learning Solutions LLC

Hopping with Harkleroad Inflatables

RECREATION & BEAUTY

Best Barber Shop IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

FINALISTS

Savannah’s Traditional Barbershop

Gold Tribe Barbering Lounge

Best Barre Studio

THE HUB SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Pure Barre • Sugar Barre

Best Cosmetic Dentistry (TIE)

HABERSHAM

DENTAL

MORRISON DENTAL ASSOCIATES

FINALIST

Abby Dew

Best Cosmetic Surgery Center

CHATHAM PLASTIC SURGERY

FINALISTS

Savannah Facial Plastic Surgery

Georgia Institute For Plastic Surgery

Best Crossfit Trainer

TRENT WILLIAMS

FINALISTS

James Cooper

Emily Ryle

Best Dance Studio

DANCE SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Savannah Dance Co. Star Dance Company

Best Day Spa

SPA BLEU

FINALISTS

Modern Muse Medical Spa

Kessinger Aesthetic

Dermatology

Best Esthetician

JORDAN WALKER

FINALISTS

New Aira Esthetics

Morgan Carpenter

Best Fitness Club

BURN BOOT CAMP POOLER

FINALISTS

River Drive CrossFit

The HUB Savannah

Best Golf Course

THE CLUB AT SAVANNAH HARBOR

FINALISTS

Savannah Country Club

The Landings

Best Hair Colorist

CAROLINE CROSBYDOLLED UP

FINALISTS

Evelyn Darling

Brittany Tuten

Best Hair Salon

CAROLINE CROSBYDOLLED UP

FINALISTS

Color Geek

40 Volume

Best Hairstylist

CAROLINE CROSBYDOLLED UP

FINALISTS

Evelyn Darling

Rachel Johnson

Best Indoor Cycling

Studio / Instructor

LEIGH JOHNSON

FINALISTS

Courtney Booker

Jenny Baird - CycleBar

Best Lash Bar

DOLLED UP

FINALISTS

New Aira Aesthetics

Pynk Eclipse

Best Local Athlete

MARY JO BOYLES

FINALISTS

Meghan Duffy Seiter Sherry Feathers

Best Local Club Sports Team

SAVANNAH BANANAS

FINALISTS

Savannah Gaelic Athletic Association

Frank Callen Boys and Girls Club

Best Local College Sports Team

GEORGIA SOUTHERN FOOTBALL

FINALISTS

Savannah State Basketball

SCAD Cycling

The Club at Savannah Harbor

BENEDICTINE MILITARY SCHOOL

FINALISTS

Alfred Ely Beach High School

Savannah Christian

Best Local Sports Coach

TYSHEENA JORDAN-GORDON

DANCE SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Michael Jaudon - Johnson Basketball

Danny Britt - BC

Best Local Sports Event of the Year

ENMARKET SAVANNAH

HOCKEY CLASSIC

FINALISTS

SCCPSS Holiday Classic Tournament

Daufuskie Island Marathon and Half

Best Makeup Artist

CAROLINE CROSBY DOLLED UP

FINALISTS

Evelyn Darling

Chrissy Sheffield Artistry

Inga Krasileviciute

Best Massage Therapist

KASSIE BIES

BODYWORX BY KASS

FINALISTS

Dawn Johnson

Jordyn Vital

Best Medical Spa

MODERN MUSE MEDICAL SPA

FINALISTS

Kessinger Aesthetic Dermatology

Aldrjoy IV & Hydration

Best Microblading

PEYTON VAUGHN

FINALISTS

The Brow Bar Savannah

Sheena Holmes, Pynk Eclipse Esthetics

Best Nail Salon

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

NAIL BAR

FINALISTS

Posh • Bad Witch Nails

Best Outdoor Fitness Area

FORSYTH PARK

FINALISTS

Lake Mayer • Daffin Park

Best Personal Trainer/ Fitness Instructor GABRIELLE PRICE

FINALISTS

Brenna Jensen

Cameron Scott

Best Piercing Artist

ASHTON THOMPSON

FINALISTS

Victor VanOrden • Planet 3

Best Piercing Studio COVEN

FINALISTS

Resurrection Ink

Planet 3

Best Pilates Studio THE HUB

FINALISTS

Otium

Georgia James Pilates

Best Running/Walking

Event

ENMARKET

SAVANNAH BRIDGE RUN

FINALISTS

Rock N Roll Running Series

Renegade Paws Pack

Walks

Best Tanning Salon

LUX TANNING BY EMMA WHITAKER

FINALISTS

Beettan

Body Bronzing By Becca

Best Tattoo Artist

MEIRA YAEL

FINALISTS

Jas Helena • Kelly Borders

Best Tattoo Shop RESURRECTION INK

FINALISTS

Kustom Hustle

Grimoire Tattoo

Best Waxing Salon SUGARBARE SUGARING

FINALISTS

New Aira Aesthetics

Southern Sugaring

Best Waxing Technician/ Salon

NEW AIRA ESTHETICS

FINALISTS

Melissa WoodSugarBare Sugaring

Jennifer Cox

Best Weight Loss Center

KESSINGER

AESTHETIC DERMATOLOGY

FINALISTS

Aldrjoy Hydration and Beauty (Essential Me)

CrossFit Reborn

Best Yoga Instructor

CHRISSY JOY

FINALISTS

Emily Bowser Courtney Booker

Best Yoga Studio

SAVANNAH

POWER YOGA

FINALISTS

The HUB Savannah

Savannah Yoga Center

Best Zumba Instructor

KRISTEN SOMMER

FINALISTS

Sheena Allen • Nana Waldo

Best Barber

OLIVIA REYNOLDS

FINALISTS

Shane Smith • Geovany Rivera

BEST ISLANDS HOTEL

THE ISLANDS, RICHMOND HILL & POOLER

THE ISLANDS

Best Islands Attraction

CAPTAIN DEREK’S DOLPHIN

ADVENTURE

FINALISTS

American Fishing Charters

Savannah Cruise Company

Best Islands Bar

HUC-A-POOS BITES AND BOOZE

FINALISTS

Cockspur Grill

Island Sports Bar

Best Islands Fitness Center ISLANDS YMCA

FINALISTS

Savannah Power Yoga

Tybee Yoga and Healing Arts

Best Islands Hotel

BEACHVIEW

INN AND SPA

FINALISTS

Hotel Tybee

Royal Palms Motel

Best Islands Gift Shop SAVANNAH BEE CO.

FINALISTS

Seaside Sisters • Polka Dots

Best Islands Marina HOGANS’ MARINA

FINALISTS

The Savannah Boat House

Tybee Island Marina

Best Islands Personality

K9 ROCKY

FINALISTS

Robert Ridge (Bob-O)

Vanessa Marquart

Best Islands Restaurant

THE CRAB SHACK

FINALISTS

Huc-A-Poos

Sundae Cafe at Tybee

Best Islands

Recreational Outfitter

RIVER SUPPLY

FINALISTS

High Tide Surf Shop

North Island Surf and Kayak

Best Islands Vacation Rental

TYBEE BEACH

VACATION RENTALS

FINALISTS

Tybee Vacation Rentals

Tybee Cottages

RICHMOND HILL & POOLER

Best Pooler Bar

Best Richmond Hill Bar FISH TALES

FINALIST Flashbacks

Best Richmond Hill Restaurant

FISH TALES

FINALISTS

The Local on 17

Himalayan Curry Kitchen

Best Islands Pizza

HUC-A-POOS BITES AND BOOZE

FINALISTS

Basil’s Pizza and Deli Island’s Pizza

WORLD OF BEER

FINALISTS

Molly McPherson’s

The Taco Stache

Best Pooler Restaurant

THE TACO

STACHE

FINALISTS

Pooler Baldinos

Hwy 80

Another Broken Egg Cafe

Fish Tales in Richmond Hill

BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT AND BEST ISLANDS RESTAURANT THE ORIGINAL CRAB SHACK

The Crab Shack has been a staple on Tybee Island since the early 80s. It’s famous for its humble beginnings as a fishing camp and bait shop.

The food may not be served on plywood tables like Jack and Belinda Flanigan, the original founders, constructed, but it hasn’t lost its signature taste over the last three decades.

Voted Best Seafood Restaurant since 1998, the restaurant has reigned as the region’s seafood giant for over three decades.

But what makes The Crab Shack such an unforgettable experience?

“We’ve been doing the same thing ever since we opened in the late 80s. We do a Lowcountry style cooking that hasn’t changed since we started. It’s consistent. People know what they’re going to get when they come here. And it’s also a little part of the Lowcountry because that’s how people have been cooking here for centuries,” said the Crab Shack’s Director of Operations, Justin Fowler.

In fact, the food is so good that many out-of-town Crab Shack loyalists make the journey to visit the restaurant, sometimes coming from hundreds of miles away to get a taste of their signature Lowcountry boil.

The old style of cooking, Fowler said, is something the restaurant prides itself on, preserving local tradition while catering to fans old and new.

here every year, seeing some of the same faces is one of my favorite parts. There are people that fly down here and eat lunch with us and fly home. We get to see those

same folks frequently. They get to share their memories and how they first found out about us. How it grew, it used to be just this little spot next to the water and now we seat over 700 people.”

The Crab Shack is more than just food–it’s a family. But it’s not only the returnees and tourists enjoying the good food on the water. Locals also continue to visit the restaurant.

“We are a tourist destination, but we have a great local crowd and a great local following.”

Some say that the food isn’t even the greatest attraction but instead, the experience.

“It’s the whole experience. It’s where we’re at and our people and the food is great. But, it’s the whole experience that makes us who we are. We’re just a fun relaxing place

Whether it’s watching the alligators in their famous alligator pond, checking out the birds in the aviary, snapping a pic of one of the lazy cats on the property, or just kicking back for a cold drink, The Crab Shack has something that everyone that tourists and locals can

The restaurant embodies the spirit of Tybee, inviting those interested in fine dining or those who have just wrapped up a trip to

No matter what you’re wearing, you can be sure The Crab Shack will welcome you with open claws.

- Emily Dietrich

Savannah

TEDxSAVANNAH TO HOST 12TH ANNUAL EVENT ON THURSDAY, MAY 25

GET INSPIRED!

GET INSPIRED!

TEDxSavannah, an independently organized, half-day celebration of ideas worth spreading based on the international TED talk phenomenon, will host its highly anticipated 12th Annual TEDxSavannah event on Thursday, May 25, 2023 from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus, located at 11935 Abercorn St.

Highlights will include thought-provoking talks by 15 local speakers as well as high-energy live performances throughout the afternoon. All ticket holders are welcome to attend a complimentary After Party at the Armstrong Center, featuring food trucks and live music, immediately following the main TEDxSavannah event.

“TEDxSavannah is a favorite annual event that offers inspiration from leaders across a wide variety of industries as well as amazing opportunities to network,” said TEDxSavannah organizing committee member Brian Judson. “We fully expect this year’s event to sell out and encourage everyone to purchase their tickets early, so they don’t miss out on this incredible event.”

The TEDxSavannah theme for 2023 is Connection. Speakers will address the theme from a wide range of perspectives that will resonate deeply with the greater Savannah community.

“We have an exciting line-up of engaging speakers, ranging from Savannah-area executives to published authors, preparing thought-provoking talks related to our theme of Connection,” said TEDxSavannah organizing committee member Rachael Tiede. “We’re thrilled to introduce our new half-day format and to celebrate our inspiring community at a fun-filled After Party this year.”

include priority seating and a special VIP badge.

Groups of more than six attendees can receive a 10% discount on the price of their tickets by contacting Allison Hersh at allison@capricorncomm.com.

To purchase tickets or to learn more about TEDxSavannah, please visit tedxsavannah.com.

2023 TEDxSAVANNAH LIST OF SPEAKERS

Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda Rector, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

Kim Campbell Senior Project Manager, Ethos Preservation

Amy Capello Certified Life Coach and Owner, Pure Joy Life Coaching

Candicee Childs, MHA, NASM-CNC, NASM-CPT Medical Student and Author

• Tickets start at $40 per

• VIP tickets available

TEDxSavannah received 115 speaker applications for the 2023 event. Each TEDxSavannah speaker is limited to a maximum of 12 minutes to present an interesting talk influenced by the theme and of interest to the Savannah community. Live talks will be filmed and posted on the TEDx Talks YouTube channel following the event.

• 15 Speakers

• New Half-Day Format

Thursday, May 25, 2023 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Fine

Guided by a mission to share ideas worth spreading, TEDxSavannah welcomes the public to enjoy live presentations from area residents, TED Talk videos designed to spark deep discussion and live performances.

Armstrong Campus - Savannah, Ga.

General admission tickets are currently on sale for $50, which include seating, onsite parking, snacks, coffee and admission to the After Party. Discounted tickets are available for educators, students and nonprofits for $40. VIP tickets are also available for $75, which

Brittany Curry Graphic Recorder and Facilitator, InkyBrittany

Marc E. Frischer, Ph.D. Professor, University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

Whitney Lam Gilliard CEO, Gilliard & Company

Michael Hughes, P.E. Principal and Project Manager, Thomas & Hutton

Harrison Scott Key Author and Savannah College of Art and Design Professor

Jonalyn Lavarias Yoga Instructor

Trelani Michelle Author, Oral Historian, Teaching Artist and Founder, Krak Teet

Zoe Rinker Executive Director, Savannah Tree Foundation

Meredith Stone Design Associate, Gunn Meyerhoff Shay and Real Estate Advisor, Vantosh Realty Group

Erika D. Tate, Ph.D. Founder and CEO, Bluknowledge, LLC

Tricia Veldman, M.S., CCC-SLP Founder and SpeechLanguage Pathologist, Georgia Speech Coaching

Tickets Now on Sale at TEDxSavannah.com

SHOPPING

Best Adult Toy Store

SUNSET NOVELTY

FINALISTS

Joker’s Novelties

Starship Enterprises Of Savannah

Best Antique Shop

PICKER JOE’S

FINALISTS

The Finder Things

Seventh Heaven Antiques

Best Art / DIY / Craft Studio Space

TIPSY HUES PAINT & SIP

FINALISTS

Pinspiration

Board & Brush Creative Studio

Best Art Supply Store

STARLANDIA

FINALISTS

Blick

Savannah Fabric Co.

Best Balloon Styling

PECK’S PARTY EMPORIUM

FINALISTS

MoniPop Balloons

Pop Squad Balloons

Best Bicycle Shop

QUALITY

BIKE SHOP

FINALISTS

Savannah on Wheels

Perry Street Rubber

Best Boutique

MORGAN RAE

BOUTIQUE

FINALISTS

Delaney Rose Boutique

Capital Bee Company

Best CBD Store

LILU FARMS

DISPENSARY

FINALISTS

Mary Jane’s

High Life Smoke Shop

Best Cigar/ Tobacco Shop

MAGNOLIA

CIGARS

FINALISTS

Smoke City

High Life Smoke Shop

Best Comic Book Store

ECHO BASE COMICS

AND TOYS

FINALISTS

Neighborhood Comics

Odin and Sons

Best Consignment Store

HIGH COTTON KIDS

FINALISTS

Coastal Kids Market

Humane Society of Greater Savannah

Thrift Shop

Best Gift Store

CAPITAL BEE

COMPANY

FINALISTS

Locally Made Savannah

Savannah Bee Company

Best Jewelry Store

HARKLEROAD

DIAMONDS AND FINE JEWELRY

FINALISTS

Levy Jewelers

13 Secrets

Peck’s Party Emporium

Best Limo Service

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING PARTY BUS

FINALISTS

Above and Beyond Limo Service

Adam’s Limo Service

Best Local Clothing Designer ROZ MORRIS JR.

FINALISTS

Emily McCarthy & Co.

Daniette Thomas

Best Lingerie Store

SOMA

FINALISTS

Sunset Novelties

Starship

Best Local Bath Products Store

NOURISH

FINALISTS

Ellen Claire Soapery Lite Foot Company

Best Local Jewelry Designer

HARKLEROAD DIAMONDS & FINE JEWELRY

FINALISTS

Gillian Trask

Kristen Baird

Best Marquee

LUCAS THEATRE

FINALIST

Savannah Theatre

Best Matchmaker

AMANDA ROSE, PRESTIGE CONNECTIONS

Best Men’s Clothing Store

J. PARKER LTD.

FINALISTS Off The Wave

Lovestones Brand

Best Musical Instrument Store

PORTMAN’S MUSIC SUPERSTORE

FINALISTS

Guitar Center American Lending & Pawn

Best

Best Window Display

PARIS MARKET

FINALISTS

FINALISTS

Lite Foot Company Pecks Party Emporium

Best Record Shop

BAD OBSESSION RECORDS

FINALISTS

Graveface Records

Coastal Empire Records

Best Outdoor Outfitters

HALF MOON OUTFITTERS

FINALIST

Rivers and Glen Trading Co.

Best Party / Event Planning

Business

SIMPLY SAVANNAH MARKETING

FINALISTS

Wild Cherry Entertainment

Bedazzled Event Planning

Best Pawn Shop

WELSH PAWN SHOP

FINALIST

American Lending Co.

Best Photo Booth/ Event Photographer

BUNNY WARE

FINALISTS

Glam Cam Savannah

Jeff Owen Photography

Best Psychic

MICHAEL BILKIS

FINALISTS

Savannah Tarot Collective

Savannah Psychics

Savannah Children’s Theatre

HallofSneakz

Locally Made Savannah

Best Shoe Store

FLEET FEET

FINALISTS

Globe Shoes • HallofSneakz

Best Shopping Center

BROUGHTON STREET

FINALISTS

Savannah Tanger Outlets

Victory Shopping Center

Best Spiritual Supply Shop

COSMIC CORNER

FINALIST

Truth In Evidence

Paranormal

Best Women’s Clothing Store

MORGAN RAE

BOUTIQUE

FINALISTS

Delaney Rose Boutique

The Printed Peach

Best Stylist/ Tailor

MCCOLL SIMS

FINALISTS

Daniette Thomas

Trish B. Stylin’ Design

Best Thrift/ Vintage Clothing Store

HIGH COTTON KIDS

FINALISTS

Glory Days Vintage

Goodwill

BEST GIFT STORE CAPITAL BEE COMPANY

It’s safe to say Capital Bee Company on East Broughton Street is buzzing with excitement after winning the Best Gift Shop in Connect Savannah’s 2023 Best of Savannah voting.

Capital Bee Company Honey Boutique cofounders Kristen Harkleroad and Thomas Hinely, are thrilled and honored to receive this recognition for the third year in a row.

“We are very excited and grateful,” said Harkleroad. “It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and the support of our loyal customers.”

Capital Bee Company, a successful honey company, established its store front in 2017 with a couple of goals in mind—support local and provide a great selection of gifts for Savannah shoppers.

The local store features a wide variety of unique gifts with a Coastal Empire flair and is always a hive of activity, attracting tourists and locals alike, who come for the fabulous gifts, honey and artwork.

The charming store features bright and exciting items from floor to ceiling, with more than 45 local Savannah-based companies, along with countless other interesting products from across the country.

They offer a plethora of items, including jewelry, candles, gourmet foods, bath and body, kitchen and barware, gift sets and one-of-a-kind paintings by local artists, as well as lots and lots of bee and honey-related products. Plus, a selection of seasonal decor and memorable Savannah items.

“We put a lot of thought and care into selecting unique items that you can’t find anywhere else. And we love switching things up with the seasons. As I select each item for the store it

reminds me so much of my Mema. She was the ultimate gift giver—putting thought and consideration into every gift she gave. She even had a gift room, so I come by it naturally. We hope there’s always something new and exciting to discover here!” said Harkleroad.

Plus, they have the sweetest bar in town, featuring 21 unique varieties of American, raw, handpoured honeys. The honey selection ranges from traditional wildflower to exotic types like snowberry and raspberry, and you can’t forget the crowd favorites: frosted cinnamon and tupelo. The honey bar is a stop on one of Savannah’s famous food tours.

A highlight of the tour, visitors rave about the variety of honey flavors and the opportunity to taste as many as they want.

“We love being a part of Savannah’s vibrant food scene,” said Hinely. “It’s exciting to see so many people interested in honey and learning about the importance of bees.”

Capital Bee Company was founded right here in Savannah by Hinely. A graduate of Calvary Day School, he decided to follow his dreams of starting a honey company. Along with the support of his family and Kristen, his director of operations, Capital Bee Company is now a thriving wholesale business along with its local storefront.

“We love bringing our one-of-akind honey tasting experience to customers as they peruse the store. It’s fun to educate customers about pairings for the honey, recipes and sharing our favorites with them,” said Hinely.

It’s clear they take pride in their thoughtfully curated collection of gifts, fantastic honeys and providing the ultimate local experience.

“We love being a go-to spot for gift buying in Savannah,” said Harkleroad. “We couldn’t do it without our amazing team, especially Kelly Hamilton. She truly is the glue that holds us together. We all enjoy chatting with customers, learning where they’re from and helping them find the perfect gift whether they’re taking it home as a souvenir for loved ones or bringing it to a party as a hostess gift.”

Whether you’re a local looking for a one-of-a-kind gift or a visitor exploring Savannah’s food and culture scene, Capital Bee Company is a mustvisit destination.

- Connect Savannah Staff

THE HOTTEST TICKET IN SAVANNAH!

BEST OF SAVANNAH IS MAY 18 GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Don’t miss out on the party of the year in Savannah! Connect Savannah’s Best of Savannah Party for 2023 is back and better than ever. Get ready to celebrate with the city’s top businesses, restaurants, and performers as we recognize their exceptional contributions to our community. With live music, delicious food, and plenty of opportunities to connect with new people, this is the must-attend event of the season. Buy your tickets now and join us for a night you won’t forget!

Best Bachelor/Bachelorette Planning Service

BACH BASH SAVANNAH

FINALISTS

Planning Savy

Chantilly Lace LLC

Best Bridal Shop

IVORY & BEAU

FINALISTS

White Magnolia

Camellia Bridal

Best Catering Company

SAVANNAH EVENT

CATERING

FINALISTS

Vintage Special Event Center

Kirk Blaine Catering

Best Event Planner

IVORY & BEAU

FINALISTS

Sincerely Yours Events

Elegant Savannah Weddings

Best Florist IVORY & BEAU

FINALISTS

Kato Floral Designs

John Davis

WEDDINGS

Best Wedding Bakery WICKED CAKES

FINALISTS

Grins & Giggles

Baker’s Pride

Chrislynn’s Confections

Best Wedding Band

FABULOUS EQUINOX

ORCHESTRA

FINALISTS

TGLive Tell Scarlet

Best Wedding DJ ALL ABOUT YOU

ENTERTAINMENT

FINALISTS

Barri Marshall DJ Will Smith

Best Wedding Hair Stylist

CAROLINE CROSBYDOLLED UP

FINALISTS

Beyond Beautiful by Heather Chrissy Sheffield Artistry

Best Wedding Makeup Artist

CAROLINE CROSBYDOLLED UP

FINALISTS

Beyond Beautiful by Heather Chrissy Sheffield Artistry

Best Wedding Photo Booth

REFLECTIONS

MIRROR PHOTOBOOTH

FINALISTS

All About You Regal Reflections

Best Wedding Photographer

TAYLOR BROWN

PHOTOGRAPHY

FINALISTS

Bronston Photography One Moment One Shot Photography

Best Wedding Venue HOLLYOAKS ON THE MARSH

FINALISTS

The Mackey House

Vintage Special Event Center

Best Wedding Videographer

ARDSLEY PARK

PRODUCTIONS

FINALISTS

Nick Jones - Jones & Co.

Mary Clare Kolbush

Hollyoaks on the Marsh

GOLDEN HOUR 5-7PM

LATE NIGHT 10-11PM

HALF OFF ALL DRINKS, $1 WINGS & MORE

TYBEE ISLAND | 1115 US HWY 80 | Tybee Island, GA