The Depot part of apparent restaurant boom in Old Town Bluffton
Note: This story as been edited to reflect when The Depot was originally set to open.
Thomas Viljac, co-owner of popular Old Town Bluffton watering hole Old Town Dispensary, said he started his business when there were just three cars a day on nearby Calhoun Street.
It’s safe to say, things are different now.
Viljac’s newest venture, The Depot, is part of an apparent boom happening in Old Town’s food scene lately with the recent openings of Calhoun’s and Alvin Ord’s, the recent soft opening of Sippin Cow, and the future openings of FARM and Twisted European Bakery.
Fujiyama sushi restaurant on Burnt Church Road will even have a presence in Old Town soon when it teams up with The Oyster Bar in the Promenade to expand the raw bar menu there.
To all the newbies out there, Viljac has this to say:
“My only advice would be — be careful in your development, understand your market and just do the right thing,” he said.
Viljac bought the property for the Dispensary at 15 Captains Cove 11 years ago and recently built The Depot, a steakhouse and a raw bar, next door. The restaurant, which was originally expected to open Spring 2016, will open sometime this November, he said.
“I tried to make (The Depot) as unique as possible in the design and development stage,” he said. “You feel like you walk back in time as you come into the building. That’s taken a lot of time to get it right.”
Viljac and co-owner Matt Jording want to create a “destination” with three diverse menus and one of the only outdoor food and music venues in Bluffton, Viljac said.
I have to say, though I’m still new to the area, I’ve found Old Town Dispensary to be a great place for group gatherings, whether it be on a Saturday night or Thursday afternoon during the Farmers Market. It’ll be interesting to all the changes that happen there.
This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "The Depot part of apparent restaurant boom in Old Town Bluffton."