New Caribbean restaurant on Hilton Head is actually an old favorite, without the drive
In the eight years Red Stripes Caribbean Cuisine & Lounge has been open in Old Town Bluffton, owners Lakesha and Ezron Daley have seen more and more customers willing to drive from their homes or vacation rentals on Hilton Head to dine there.
“We have a great loyal base of customers, loyal people,” Lakesha said.
So the couple decided they would bring a second Red Stripes location to those folks on the island, and they didn’t let a worldwide pandemic get in the way of their plans.
“It was something we were planning from the beginning of the year. We just decided to keep on pushing though and make it happen,” Lakesha said.
The restaurant opened July 30 in the Atrium at 840 William Hilton Parkway.
The location most recently was Nella’s Caribbean Kitchen, but don’t mistakenly think the Daleys just changed the name on the building and carried on.
They added a bar, in addition to dining room seating set up for social distancing, and decorated the space with their signature vivid color palette and bright red upholstery.
The menu
The Hilton Head restaurant’s menu is the same as the one for the Bluffton location. Customer favorites are jerk chicken ($11.95) and oxtails ($15.95). Both are served with a choice of two sides, such as mac and cheese, plantains, rice and peas, or Caribbean slaw, among other options.
The menu includes a number of seafood entrees and appetizers, as well as a vegan section with dishes like Rasta Pasta and Curry Chick Peas (both $12.95).
The drink menu features more than a dozen rum- or vodka-based cocktails, a selection of beer and wine — yes, of course, there’s Red Stripe — and non-alcoholic Jamaican soft drinks.
Ezron Daley, who is from Jamaica, and Lakesha Daley, who grew up on Daufuskie Island, have five children. Their eldest on, a 28-year-old also named Ezron, is chef at the Hilton Head restaurant.
“It’s authentic Caribbean food. It’s made with love,” said Lakesha, who wants her customers to feel “like visiting home” in the new space.
What’s next?
Coronavirus called halt to the annual restaurant-sponsored Reggae Pon De River festival typically held in August in Bluffton’s Oyster Factory Park.
But the event and catering side of the business hasn’t gone away, and the Daleys hope that grows now that they have a kitchen on Hilton Head, Lakesha said.
Also in the works: A food truck.
After all, the Daleys have four more children to recruit into the family business.
If you go
What: Red Stripes Caribbean Cuisine & Lounge
Where: 8 Pin Oak St. in Old Town Bluffton and 840 William Hilton Parkway in the Atrium on Hilton Head Island
Hours: Monday through Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. in Bluffton and noon to 9 p.m. on Hilton Head
Phone: 843-757-8111 (Bluffton) and 843-715-8008 (Hilton Head)
Website: www.redstripessc.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RedStripesSC and www.facebook.com/RedStripesHiltonHead
