The past week served as a good reminder that Charleston is a small town where misinformation can spread like wildfire.
Case in point: The next phase of the Marina Variety Store and Salty Mike’s, a beloved restaurant and bar on Lockwood Boulevard. They were at the center of a social media maelstrom after a questionable local Instagram account posted Dec. 2 that the new operators fired the staff and that the restaurant and bar were “stripped down and waiting for its next ‘coastal, elevated, chef-driven concept.’” The post had enormous engagement. But in reality, it was an Instagrammable misrepresentation of the truth.
In January, the Altine and Ritter families sold the popular restaurant and bar to Safe Harbor Marinas after 62 years of ownership. Safe Harbor operated the two concepts for the bulk of the year before North Carolina restaurateurs James and Cindy Capps took over the lease in November. Salty Mike’s will not have a name change, but the upstairs restaurant will now be called Fin & Crab. It is set to open Wednesday. At the beginning, it will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m…