Designing a Growing Restaurant Group in Charleston, S.C.

Those in the restaurant business know the division well: there are diners who go to restaurants to eat food that they cannot or would not prefer to make at home, and then there are those who want a restaurant experience. For the latter, it is about transcending beyond everyday eating habits and instead enjoying an immersion of setting, service, food and drink all combining into something that is more than just the food on the plate. And for those diners, a reservation at one of the restaurants of Brooks Reitz and Tim Mink in Charleston, S.C. is a promise of just such an experience. “For us, in designing, it’s all about that vibe,” says Reitz. “That, and a certain level of finish, a certain glow.” The duo have created Leon’s Oyster Shop, Little Jack’s Tavern, Melfi’s, and are now in the process of reimaging and revamping one of Mink’s earlier projects -- Monza (although it is remaining open while the team works behind the scenes). They are not professionally traine