Taste of Hilton Head Spring 2021

Page 12

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY

How a small café on the south end became a global icon. BY BARRY KAUFMAN

PHOTOS BY ROB KAUFMAN

When do legends begin? Most, with the phrase “Once Upon a Time,” but where does the story truly start? Up until John Henry took on the steampowered machine that would be his undoing, he was just another railroad worker. John Chapman was merely a midwestern settler until he started planting trees, earning the nickname “Johnny Appleseed.” 12

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And up until that day he saved John Braddocks from a raging storm, Jake was just a dog. But from that point on, whether the story is apocryphal or not, Jake the Salty Dog was a legend. The Salty Dog Café, launched in 1987 in honor of Jake’s heroic deeds, has followed a similar trajectory into legend. Sure, it started out as just a humble café. More than 30 years later, it has become a legend in its own right. It’s not just


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