Time-honored Beaufort cafe is back in business. It’s already becoming a hot spot

Magnolia Cafe, once a favorite lunch spot in Beaufort before closing two years ago, has been reopened by a Bluffton couple who own well-known restaurant and catering businesses in that community south of the Broad River.

Magnolia Cafe, located at 703 Congress St., offers coffee, pastries, breakfast and lunch and even food to go in a prominent location at the intersection of Congress and Carteret Street across from the University of South Carolina Beaufort and the Beaufort River.

For years, it was called the Magnolia Bakery Cafe and Garden Gift Gallery. But the local favorite closed in 2022.

Ryan and Leah McCarthy, who have owned and operated the Downtown Catering Company, Venue 1223 and The Downtown Deli in Bluffton for 20 years, are the new owners. They’ve shortened the name to Magnolia Cafe. Leah says the couple is paying homage to the longtime Beaufort business while infusing it with new energy and ideas.

“When this opportunity came up, we really didn’t think that long about it,” Leah McCarthy said Thursday. “I told Ryan, ‘We’re buying Magnolia Cafe.’ He said, ‘OK.’”

Even though Leah grew up south of the Broad River, she says the Beaufort restaurant has special meaning because her family stopped there often during visits to the city.

In the few weeks since it has reopened, she said, Magnolia Cafe is quickly regaining its popularity as a place for friends, family and groups to meet and celebrate.

While the cafe opened last month, the official opening occurred Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at which McCarthy thanked the community and God.

“We’ve seen some amazing prayer happening in here,” Leah McCarthy said, “and gathering of people from Beaufort and all over the county.”

The focus is lunch and breakfast, which is served all day.

Fresh-baked paninis and waffles for breakfast and espressos and lattes made from King Bean Coffee Roasters out of Charleston are included on a menu that features sandwiches, soups and salads and breakfast entries.

Table service is available inside or outside from a patio with a view of the Beaufort River. The restaurant’s hours are 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturday.

This story was originally published April 6, 2024 at 1:53 PM.

Karl Puckett

The Island Packet

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Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.