Craving fresh, local seafood? Hilton Head will have a new lunch spot soon

An ocean-to-table, grab-and-go lunch option is closer to serving up food on Hilton Head Island.

Mullet’s, a food truck that will be housed behind Barnacle Bill’s Fresh Seafood Market, received final approval from the town’s Design Review Board on Tuesday.

The next step in the approval process is a development plan review, which is done by town staff. After that approval, work can begin, according to Chris Darnell, urban designer with the town.

Scott Corkern, the architect on the project, plans to break ground next month. He expects the new north-end lunch spot to open this spring.

Greg Berkes, the owner of Barnacle Bill’s and Mullet’s, said previously he plans to serve fresh-catch sandwiches, with the option of grilled, blackened or fried fish. He also wants to have a “blue crab day” where visitors can eat all the blue crab they want for a flat fee.

Mullet’s would be open daily from about 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., he said.

Berkes said Mullet’s will “fill a void” for Hilton Head because there there isn’t another option for fast, fresh and local seafood.

The food truck will stay in a pavilion, hidden from view on all sides, according to town application documents. It will serve items prepared from Barnacle Bill’s market from a window opening. The 1,700-square-foot pavilion will have a bar shaped like the bow of a boat with about 15 seats for customers.

“This project is really an addition to the old Hilton Head Island character, before everything got overbuilt and too crowded,” Corkern said. “(The Design Review Board) appreciated that it was a really great design.”

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Craving fresh, local seafood? Hilton Head will have a new lunch spot soon."