‘Haunted’ Bluffton restaurant featured on TV’s ‘Dead Files.’ What happened after filming
Bluffton real estate agent Michelle Licona’s phone was blowing up last weekend, but it had nothing to do with the spirited housing market and everything to do with spirits of a different kind.
Licona and her husband, chef Julio Licona, owners of now-closed Nonna Lucia Italian restaurant in Bluffton, were featured Feb. 26 on the Travel Channel television network’s show “The Dead Files.”
“I thought this show would just slip under the radar,” Michelle Licona told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette about her surprise when she started getting calls from old friends and loyal customers after the show premiered.
The episode, titled “Hell’s Kitchen,” was filmed at the beginning of August at Nonna Lucia, just off S.C. 46 near the Bluffton Parkway traffic circle. It will reair this weekend and next.
The show pairs medium Amy Allan with Steve DiSchiavi, a former New York City Police homicide detective. The two travel around the country “to help people who believe paranormal activity is ruining their lives,” the show’s website says.
Michelle explained that they were not paid for their appearance on the show but wanted validation of what they were experiencing.
“When Amy and Steve came, it was good for us mentally to know we weren’t losing our minds,” she said.
At the time of the filming, the restaurant was closed because of extensive water damage from Hurricane Danny. While negotiating with the insurance company over the damages, they found out the building they had been renting had been put up for sale.
They decided not to reopen.
“We just always seemed to have bad luck there,” Michelle said. “All things considered, it was time to move on.”
The paranormal
Almost as soon as the Liconas took over the restaurant in August 2019, they started noticing strange occurrences, and Michelle’s health “tanked.”
She had a heart attack and a stroke, developed vertigo and unexplained pain, and was diagnosed as diabetic. Julio found himself getting uncharacteristically angry and depressed while in the restaurant and having thoughts of ending his marriage.
They said they saw shadowy figures and heard noises like plates rattling. Kitchen items, such as knives and meat tenderizers, would disappear and then reappear.
Employees would trip over nothing or feel like they were pushed down. One former employee interviewed by “The Dead Files” said she saw the apparitions of two different women.
In the episode, Allan and DiSchiavi arrive separately in Bluffton.
DiSchiavi’s investigaton uncovers history of the property and area, including slaves’ shacks burned by the British Army on their way to attack Charleston in 1779 and the inexplicable murder of Sly and the Family Stone lead guitarist Anthony “Tony” Hooks in 1988.
Meanwhile, Allan visits the scene and shares her impressions, including describing seeing a murdered man in a rocking chair and rows of figures heading toward the restaurant.
Where are they now?
“In terms of how we felt when we were in the restaurant, that part’s gone. Julio and I are back to a good place,” Michelle said.
Julio is working at Okatie Ale House, and Michelle is a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway.
Her illnesses will be permanent, but “I feel like a different person. I feel human for the first time in years,” she said.
The damage — financial and emotional — from closing their restaurant hasn’t completely healed either.
“We just take one day at a time, because it’s too overwhelming to look at the big picture,” Michelle said.
They are hoping one day to find the right space and revive their restaurant dreams.
“I always said that our restaurant had the best customers. ... We all miss it, and despite everything, we had some really great times there,” Michelle said. “We made some good friends and have a lot of wonderful memories.”
When to watch
“The Dead Files” will air on the Travel Channel at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 5; 1 a.m. Sunday, March 6; 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12; and midnight Sunday, March 13.
It can be streamed on several online platforms, including Discovery Plus, Philo and Amazon Prime Video.
