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She lost her husband, best friend and business partner in October. Pierce L. Lowrey Jr. died after a three-year battle with a form of skin cancer that rarely kills. They were married 31 years.
Their two beloved dogs died at about the same time.
And a recession batters the business world that the entrepreneurial couple found so rewarding.
Yet the new president of one of Hilton Head Island's leading hospitality businesses is, in fact, smiling.
She's looking forward to opening a new restaurant this spring. She's beating the drum for "shoulder season" festivals sponsored by the Hilton Head Hospitality Association. She sits on Mayor Tom Peeples' task force to envision Hilton Head's competitive edge of the future. Her days still start at 4:30 a.m. and end at midnight, she still pecks out text messages to her seven grandchildren on a low-tech clunker of a cell phone, she still doesn't visit her Facebook page and she still has big plans for her group of local restaurants, even without her best friend and partner who was eulogized by his competitors as a marketing genius.
"Always put one foot in front of the other," she says. "Keep going. Keep pushing. Keep moving. Stay out there."
The Lowrey Group owns CQ's, the Old Fort Pub and Antonio's restaurants, and manages Backwater Bill's Grill in Bluffton's Hampton Lake. It has expanded its Celebration Events catering business to include full planning for special events. It publishes two magazines.
It sold the Boathouse II restaurant last year. And it closed the Ocean Grille restaurant in Shelter Cove, but it will open a new restaurant there soon with a new concept and design.
For the Lowreys, all of this happened in retirement. It came long after they traded Atlanta for the quiet beauty of Daufuskie Island in 1987.
Bonnie Lowrey says getting into the restaurant business was "an accident." But it didn't scare her husband. He got into a variety of businesses in his life because, as friends say, he was not afraid to fail. They bought CQ's at Harbour Town 16 years ago.
"We thought we'd give it a try," Lowrey said. "We were lucky enough to know what good food and good service is because we spent a lot of time in New York."
She says they were among the first to discover the tuna at Danny Meyer's Union Square Café. "Now he's infamous, with about 10 restaurants," she said.
Also, Lowrey says, "I was lucky enough that my parents enjoyed good food."
She learned to love wine from her father, "a Spaniard" and a Palm Beach, Fla., doctor. He died of Lou Gehrig's Disease, but her mother, at 96, is still going and only recently quit playing the stock market.
Within those passions for excellence, Lowrey says, lie the secrets to Beaufort County's future.
HOT DOGS TO SOLE
Lowrey insists that local restaurants can deliver excellent food and service, and the primary issue is spreading the word.
"We have some of the best culinary skills of any town in the country, especially our size," Lowrey said. "Our chefs are constantly learning. We're doing a lot better in all the service skills, and I think we as owners treat our staff members as professionals."
The recent industry-wide Restaurant Week promotion showcased the local culinary world, she said. The 25th Food and Wine Festival on Hilton Head March 1 to 15 will do the same, she said. "We do everything well, from hot dogs to Dover sole," Lowrey said.
She suggests more marketing, and marketing beyond the drive market. She says the Hilton Head Airport helps add an important ingredient to the mix: visitors and residents with more disposable income.
Lowrey suggests Beaufort County stress what it offers -- beautiful weather (which should not be lumped with "the Carolinas," she said, because it is often much nicer here); outdoor activities; culinary, arts and sporting excellence; a quiet escape; and smart residents known for volunteerism.
'A SCIENTIFIC FACT'
Lowrey said the business free fall has leveled off. But everyone, she says, is struggling to keep the doors open and workers employed. Banks need to cooperate, she said, and businesses need to work together.
"Everybody will get a piece of the pie if we pull together," she said.
"I think our industry can execute, I really do," Lowrey said. "I see it every day. Our hospitality industry will do beautifully for anyone who comes here, whether it's mom and dad with five kids or a couple going out for a different elegant dinner every night.
"You've got to get the guests here. And once you get them here, you've got to do a fabulous job."
That's difficult when restaurants are competing with grocery stores for finite dollars.
But Lowrey looks through her era of pain and says, "Negative energy breeds negative energy and positive energy breeds positive energy.
"It's a scientific fact."
