Meet the Chef Charles Arena from Acme By Sarah Rose Long Island Cafe gets a splash of new ownership By Sarah Rose FOOD & BEV As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, Charles Arena was fascinated by watching his mom and grandmother cook what he called “Italian comfort food.” In middle school, Arena’s family moved to Monticello, New York. He envied his older brother who found a job working in a small restaurant a couple of blocks from their new home. At 14 years old, Arena was also hired to work in a nearby restaurant. Following his passion for the food and beverage industry, he attended the Culinary Institute of America. After graduating in 1998, Arena decided it was time to make a move away from wintry weather toward a warmer climate. He and his roommate traveled to South Carolina where they interviewed at restaurants along the coast from Myrtle Beach to Charleston. Parked at a table at Applebee’s in West Ashley one Wednesday night, the friends decided that Charleston would become the destination for their new home. For the next seven years, Arena worked as chef for the Kiawah River Course & Beach Club. Then an opportunity arose to join The Boathouse as chef for the Breach Inlet and downtown locations, as well as overseeing their catering department. After a 12-year chapter with the group, Acme Lowcountry Kitchen called Arena, inquiring if he was ready to make a change. While Arena enjoyed his tenure at The Boathouse, when Acme presented their proposal, it was the right time for the transition. Eight years later, Arena is happy working with a fantastic team while making local favorites such as the IOP shrimp and grits, his favorite seafood dish on Acme’s menu, and succotash. A day in the life of a chef at Acme, he said, begins at 10 a.m. when he arrives to check in with the managers and sous chefs to get a lay of the land and a feel for what’s happening that day. Between working with vendors and creating nightly specials based on local and seasonal fresh catch and produce, Arena added that the most rewarding part of his job is keeping guests raving about the menu items, whether staples or innovative options. When he’s not in the kitchen, Arena can be found at home hanging out with his wife and 17-year-old son, Tate, who has aspirations of becoming an animation artist; catching up on the phone with his 19-year-old son, Tre, who is studying to become an engineer; working out or playing with his two dogs Hondo and Sully. Arena said he rarely cooks in his own kitchen unless it’s the holidays and the kids are around. In that case, he pays homage to the Italian fare that he grew up with, along with traditional French dishes. After 33 years in the food and beverage industry, Arena has his finger on the pulse of what keeps locals and visitors alike coming back. It’s quite evident that the kitchen is his arena. When the time came for Ravi Scher and his silent partner to pass the torch to new owners of Long Island Cafe and the adjacent IOP Raw Bar, it was a natural progression for the Lackey family, owners of Imagine One Hospitality, to purchase the iconic island establishments. Based in Hickory, North Carolina, the Lackeys have owned a home on Isle of Palms for decades, according to director of marketing operations Sallie Long. Long, who has worked in the restaurant industry under the Lackeys for 10 years and whose children grew up going to Long Island Cafe and the IOP Raw Bar, said it made sense to keep the ownership on the island. “As longtime guests of both restaurants, the Lackeys have strong relationships with Scher and deep connections with the staff who have been there forever,” Long continued. “We think so highly of the previous owners and what they created. We want to respect that, so we won’t be doing a massive overhaul. Of course, any time there is a transition, there will be some small changes. Over time we will keep refreshing but that will be a slow progression. Our intention is to highlight what we have inherited and keep the vibe of this space going. With this being such a tight-knit community, we want customers to feel the same homey, nostalgic love they’ve had for years.” Long noted that while there will be aesthetic renovations in the kitchen, such as installing new appliances, there won’t be any major modifications to the interior decor in the front of the house or bar area. Additionally, there won’t be any alterations to the core chef-driven menus at either of the two restaurants that share a kitchen while operating as separate establishments. Long added that Chef Jacob Mitzel does love incorporating daily and weekly specials, highlighting the fresh catch with his own spin. The Long Island Cafe, known for its she-crab soup, signature fresh flounder dish and shrimp and grits, serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily and dinner with menu options from both restaurants available from 5-8 p.m. every evening. The IOP Raw Bar, renowned on the island for oysters, local catch, chilled appetizers and seafood towers, is open for dinner nightly from 5-9 p.m. She also said that there will be a few bonuses coming this spring, which include a to-go kitchen and two new items on the menu, steam buckets and a Lowcountry boil. 18 IslandVibesIOP.com Acme chef Charles Arena with sons Tate (left) and Tre.
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