IslandVibesIOP.com 27 The couple’s children worked in the restaurant, as did their kids’ friends and some college students as well. Even some teachers worked there during their summers off. After 10 years, Tom and Carolyn decided to retire for good. During the time the restaurant was open, the island’s population boom had just begun. “People new to the island would come in and Tom would tell them what they needed to know about living there,” recounted Carolyn. Just like a good neighbor. One who knows your name. 843.894.0955 | info@YoungerYoustudio.com www.YoungerYoustudio.com CALL/TEXT TO LEARN MORE OR BOOK AN APPOINTMENT 1022 Carolina Blvd.Isle of Palms, SC Wellness by the Sea Regenerative Medicine & Aesthetics Comprehensive Services For Men & Women! Dr. Jaclyn Lanham $9/UNIT JEUVEAU FOR NEW PATIENTS through Sept. 9 FREE SKIN IMAGING ANALYSIS with GLIMPSE INJECTIONS for a vitamin boost, longevity enhancement and metabolism/ energy boost WEIGHT LOSS WITH GLP-1s INTRODUCING THE CONTOUR LIFT BY EVERESSE Lift, Tighten and Volumize, eyes, face, neck & other body areas NO NEEDLES. NO DOWNTIME. NO PAIN. Only place in Charleston region with this award winning device IT’S NOT HYPE. IT’S SCIENCE. AND IT WORKS. *30% OFF* EVERESSE SERVICES through Sept. 9 The Islander Cooked by the people, for the people By Mary Coy HISTORY Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. The Islander was such a place. Tom and Carolyn Buckhannon opened the restaurant in the mid-1970s. “Everybody knew everybody,” Carolyn said. “Some had coffee there every morning. Lawyers and realtors were regulars. So was Mayor Carmen Bunch and the people from city hall. It was like one big happy family. I remember J.C. Long, who sold us the building, even came in to make sure we were right for the spot.” The Buckhannons were a Navy family, and Tom was stationed on one of the submarines in North Charleston in the 1960s. Carolyn recalled that when they arrived, “Tom asked me where I wanted to live. I saw a billboard advertising the Isle of Palms with a woman water skiing. I was used to living in Michigan and being on the lake, so the island was where I wanted to be.” The family of five initially lived in a home built by J.C. Long, who had courted Navy families to buy his small affordable houses. And there were quite a few. Menu from The Islander, courtesy of Jason Sewell “We gave one of the other Navy chiefs a key to our restaurant because he liked to get up early and he’d come in and make the coffee,” Carolyn explained. The Islander served breakfast, lunch and dinner. “On Sunday mornings, people would be standing in line waiting to get in,” Carolyn recalled. “Tom could cook almost anything. We’d get fresh shrimp from Simmons Seafood and headed them each night for the next day. Seafood was the main fare, but he also made great prime rib and spaghetti.” When Tom retired from the Navy, he initially worked different jobs, including a stint at the island’s police department. But one day, he noticed that the previous The Islander Restaurant was for sale and told Carolyn, “I’m going to look into getting it.” That restaurant had not been successful, but the Buckhannons decided to keep the name anyway, knowing their place would be different. “Tom knew all about food. He had been in charge of the galley on the subs and gone to culinary school. He was used to doing food.”
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