EVERY DETAIL TELLS A STORY With the release of
“Steamer Seafood 2.0,”
one of the island’s most iconic restaurants begins a new chapter. BY BARRY KAUFMAN
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Every story, like every great piece of seafood, starts with a hook. With the story of Steamer Seafood, the hook actually comes in the middle of their story, when the impending arrival of Hurricane Matthew caused the island institution to shut its doors permanently. In its original location on Lady’s Island, Steamer had risen to fame as a hotspot for celebrities from Barbara Streisand to Tom Berenger. After it moved to Coligny in 1991, it cultivated a rabid fanbase of locals and tourists alike. Over the course of 25 years, it became a part of the island as indelible as its white sand beaches and world-class golf courses. And then, with Matthew approaching, they closed. No one knew at the time that a chapter in Hilton Head Island history was closing with it. “When it came time to make the decision to reopen, our tenure in Coligny was ending,” said Steamer Seafood owner Dale Augenstein. “We decided to put everything into storage and wait until we found the right location.” Four years later, they found it. And that location is a story unto itself. While it most recently served as the home for Darren Clarke’s Tavern, the iconic two-story building on Executive Park Road, 12
TASTEOFHILTONHEAD.COM
PHOTOS BY ROB KAUFMAN
looming over Pope Avenue, has a much deeper history. Longtime island locals might still refer to it as the Hofbräuhaus building, as it spent 30 years serving up German cuisine under the guidance of Peter and Ellen Kenneweg. Newer transplants might even still call it Truffles, as it spent 9 years under that famed banner. And now, another iconic island restaurant calls it home. In just a few months, Augenstein and his team worked tirelessly to put their own stamp on it. “This was an Irish pub, so at least 50 percent of it… was covered in mahogany panels,” said Augenstein. “It was an absolutely beautiful Irish pub, but everything that it was, we are not.” Purchasing the property in January, the team gutted the building and began transforming the space with walls of reclaimed wood, aged corrugated steel, and tilework that reflects a much more modern coastal chic vibe than the classic nautical motif that had defined Steamer’s previous incarnation. There are the classic tables, of course, with their oyster bucket taking center stage, but elements like an oyster bateau suspended over one side of the dining room evoke an updated sensibility.