Will Hilton Head’s restaurants be slammed for RBC Heritage week? Here’s what to expect
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RBC Heritage 2021
With limited spectators for the 2021 event, RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing is Hilton Head’s first big, in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Island Packet is your guide for updates and information throughout the tournament.
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For restaurant owners on Hilton Head, Heritage week seems to be one big question mark in what it will mean for crowds.
“I really don’t know how much Heritage is going to affect us,” said Frederika Fekete, co-owner of the popular Java Burrito Co. in Village at Wexford on Hilton Head’s south end.
Fekete said the burrito and coffee shop has been busy because of spring break, but with limited tickets sold for this year’s Heritage, she wasn’t sure what to anticipate for the coming week.
“This past week with spring break was probably one of our busiest weeks in a while,” she said.
The annual RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing held at Harbour Town Golf Links usually draws around 135,000 visitors to Hilton Head’s Sea Pines each April.
Last year, the PGA Tour golf tournament was delayed until June and held without spectators because of COVID-19. This year, the schedule is returning to its normal April spot after the Master’s, but only 27,000 tickets were sold, and the course is closed to the public Monday and Tuesday.
Alex Vitto, chef and co-owner at Al’s Aloha Kitchen on Pope Avenue and co-owner of the recently opened Nood Good Mood Food ramen shop in Coligny Plaza, said Easter week is generally busier than Heritage, and he expects that will prove to be true this year as well.
“Heritage week has been kind of a hit-or-miss thing over the last couple years,” he said. Still, with spring break continuing, he said he’s looking forward to seeing how many customers the new restaurant will draw.
“We’re hoping to see a good influx of people,” Vitto said. “We’d love to serve whoever we can.”
Dave Peck of A Lowcountry Backyard on Palmetto Bay Road explained that, when the golf tournament’s organizers moved public parking from the south end to Honey Horn in 2014, it changed the way island tourists planned their dining.
“We’re not expecting much, to be honest,” he said when asked whether he was anticipating over-the-top crowds for the coming week.
However, compared to most of last year, this year has been a welcome change, Peck said. “All in all, we have seen a turnaround up to this point.”
Ryan Larson, spokesperson for SERG, Hilton Head’s largest restaurant group, said the parking situation definitely “spread out people’s dining opportunities,” but looking at vacation rental data made him hopeful island restaurants would be busy.
SERG is handling concessions at the tournament but also has more than a dozen different restaurants and a dedicated takeout kitchen on Hilton Head.
The spring break boost seems to have started earlier this year, he said, perhaps buoyed by families eager to take vacations after being home for the last year and peace of mind because of increased access to vaccines.
“A lot of people come down just because it’s a beautiful time of the year,” he said. “It’s going to be an interesting week.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 4:30 AM.
