Deanna’s Wine Bar and Bert’s Pig Shop will bring house-made charcuterie and small-batch wines to West Ashley by year’s end, replacing a long-closed 7-Eleven. The city is offering $1 million to resolve a nearly 20-year dispute over public access to Longborough Park. A man from England died in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 526 near the Don Holt Bridge, marking the second fatal collision in that location in just over a year.
We’re going to catch you up on these and other top stories from The Post and Courier for Wednesday, Oct. 28.
New wine, whole-hog charcuterie bar coming to old 7-Eleven in West Ashley
Bert Sheffield and Douglas Hickerson are opening Deanna’s Wine Bar at 521 Wappoo Road in West Ashley, a split concept featuring a wine bar and Bert’s Pig Shop serving house-made charcuterie from Peculiar Pig Farm in Dorchester. The business holds the only federal license in South Carolina allowing on-site charcuterie production, a difficult permit requiring a nearly 180-page hazard plan. Sheffield, an executive chef who previously specialized in whole-animal butchery, anticipates opening by year’s end with a sommelier-curated wine list focused on small European and domestic makers at affordable prices.
Charleston to offer $1M for Longborough Park after decades-long dispute
The city is offering $1 million to the Longborough Owner’s Association to acquire roughly 70 to 80 percent of Longborough Park and its crabbing dock for public use. The deal would include $25,000 in earnest money for survey work required to redraw property lines, with the city recovering that amount if the deal terminates. If accepted, the offer would end a 20-year dispute that began when the homeowners association sued over public access to the park in 2006.
Driver from England reportedly caused fatal wrong-way Don Holt crash in North Charleston
Jake Stevens, 35, from the United Kingdom died Oct. 25 after driving the wrong direction on Interstate 526 westbound near the Don Holt Bridge and colliding with another vehicle. Robert Brown, 49, of West Ashley, also died at the scene, while a third driver was transported to a hospital. The collision marks the second fatal wrong-way crash in just over a year at the same location, with a similar incident occurring Sept. 6, 2025.
Charleston’s most distinct restaurant bathrooms feature Barbie, Ludacris and swan-shaped faucets
Charleston restaurant owners are increasingly designing distinctive bathrooms as creative expressions and social media moments, with establishments like Vern’s featuring matte black walls and a late 1990s and early 2000s hip-hop playlist, while City Lights Eastside showcases a Barbie-themed bathroom with vintage dolls and Life magazine wallpaper. Other notable examples include Kultura with disco ball lightbulbs and metallic floral wallpaper, Madison Maison with golden swan faucets, and Jackrabbit Filly with spinning disco balls that move to music. Restaurant architect David Thompson notes the difficulty of designing bathrooms that cater to aesthetics and building codes.
Election 2026 Daily: Early voting breaks SC midterm record, GOP leaders beg for unity
Early voting and absentee ballots have reached 618,986 cast votes in South Carolina, representing about 18 percent of registered voters and breaking the previous non-presidential midterm record of 561,563 set in 2022. Republican leaders campaigned in Goose Creek on October 27 urging party unity behind U.S. Sen. Darline Graham after her primary opponent U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman publicly criticized her as a “fraud of a candidate.” A new S.C. Policy Council poll shows the Senate race in a statistical tie with Graham leading Democrat Annie Andrews 47 percent to 46 percent, while Republican Alan Wilson leads Democrat Jermaine Johnson 51 percent to 41 percent in the gubernatorial race.
This news briefing was created with the assistance of AI to summarize stories. The briefing was edited by a Post and Courier journalist before it was published.
