Fans of Red Rooster Cafe now have another restaurant to check out

Red Rooster Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot on Boundary Street in Beaufort, has ventured out from the farm and into the ocean with its new seafood restaurant, Nautilus Seafood and Grill.

Nautilus will share the same kitchen as the cafe and occupy the neighboring space in the connected building that used to be a combined Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

Nautilus opened June 16, according to Red Rooster Cafe owner, Courtney Thorne.

The restaurant will give customers of Red Rooster Cafe the option to dine in the evening.

Red Rooster Cafe will now close at 3 p.m. and Nautilus will open from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Nautilus will be open on Mondays after Aug. 29 so that staff can be trained in the meantime.

Customers will also have the option to host events and private parties in one restaurant while the other is open.

In regards to the menu, Thorne said she wanted to capture the heart of the Lowcountry.

“We have steaks and seafood, a lot of comfort food like chicken pot pie and meatloaf, not just seafood,” she said. “But we’re definitely trying to highlight the seafood in this area.”

Thorne said a few changes were made to the menu after the opening, and more tweaks can be made over time.

“We kept the items that we got the most positive feedback on,” she said. “We plan on adding the other items back on the menu, but they’ll be added back seasonally.”

Though she already has a strong background in the restaurant business with Red Rooster Cafe, Thorne said opening any business is difficult and launching Nautilus took longer than the team anticipated.

“We had some trouble with our liquor license and getting things done, but it really gave us some extra time to get things right,” she said. “So it really wasn’t a bad thing that we had to wait that long.”

Despite these delays, Thorne said she, her husband, Chas, and the Red Rooster Cafe team take pride in what they’re doing and put their heart and souls into the work.

“From the last six years of being open in Red Rooster and being part of the community, we’ve realized that our customers are more than customers, they’re our guests and family,” she said. “We’re so excited to ask our guests out to dinner.”

Details: 843-379-2253

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Fans of Red Rooster Cafe now have another restaurant to check out."