The Monthly is a roundup of articles we’ve published in our print edition and highlights from our archives.
MARCH MOVES LIKE A TIDE, pulling us between the quiet of winter and awakening of spring, when bare branches give way to first blooms and fresh ideas take root. As the Southeast shakes off its chill, we lean into the in-between, embracing shifts in season, mood, and momentum. Here, we celebrate change—the makers, spaces, and stories that remind us that transformation is key to life. V
FEATURE » Secret Service
Intimate and experiential supper clubs are blossoming across the Southeast, offering diners a fleeting and multi-sensory evening
IN AN ATLANTA COFFEE SHOP, Chef Trevor Shankman recalls the passing of his grandmother, Maria, as streetlamp-lit rain cascades down windows, sometimes hammering sideways. An impending hurricane is expected to hit the South in the same way grief slammed into Shankman when she died. Out of those uncharted waters arose Maria, Shankman’s experiential supper club, an ode to her memory and a way to navigate his emotions.
“I always knew that my intention was to curate a fine-dining experience, but I yearned deeply for something more,” Shankman says. “As time went on and I continued to push myself and develop ideas, the core ethos of Maria became increasingly clear—nostalgia in sequence.”
Each dinner that Shankman crafts is unique, a tasting menu with a backbone of local and seasonal ingredients created only days before guests are notified of the location. “Everything is a blank slate,” he shares. It’s a poetically nostalgic story told in food dedicated to whom he holds most dear. “The constriction of dishes and where they are placed on the menu is secondary to the directive; everything flows from the point,” he says.
Snap Pea Creative Dining | Chapel Hill, NC
Dirt Church | Atlanta, GA
Read Angela Hansberger’s full article about these unique dinners in our winter 2025 issue.
CURATE » Like Minds
Creative directors Amy Pastre and Courtney Rowson build new worlds through SDCO Partners, one brand at a time
AMY PASTRE AND COURTNEY ROWSON are still sitting beside each other. The creative directors and co-founders of SDCO Partners, a nationally-renowned design studio based in Charleston, South Carolina, first began working from the same desk out of practicality. Fifteen years later, their willingness to continue sharing close quarters says more about their philosophy. The duo has turned their studio into the creative force behind some of the country’s most interesting brands, from Reese Witherspoon’s lifestyle label Draper James to the Cali-cool olive oil producer Brightland.
Pastre and Rowson launched their creative studio as Stitch Design Co. in 2009. Their commitment to curiosity, openness, and imagination quickly showed up in the rich, layered brand work they created and began to set Stitch apart.
“Our hope is that there’s some sort of enlightenment for the user . . . . that we can help them see a place differently, or experience something differently. The goal is to transform and transcend design,” Rowson says. “The South values a story . . . . And the South is always about multiple things at once,” muses Pastre. “That is very much the way we approach our projects, too.”
Read Kathryn Davés full story in our winter 2025 issue.
DEVOUR » Smooth Operators
These regional chocolatiers are high on both style and substance
WE’LL NEVER KNOW what prompted the ancient Mayans to concoct a bitter-tasting beverage out of cacao beans—but those of us who love chocolate are certainly glad they did. And glad that the Spanish, who brought the first shipment of Theobroma cacao (literally “food of the gods”) to Europe, thought to add sugar to sweeten the brew. These days, skilled artisans craft the best chocolate, often beginning with a hill of beans.
Don’t sleep on these Southeastern chocolatiers »
Condor Chocolates | Athens, GA
A love letter to their mother’s homeland of Ecuador, Condor Chocolates was started in Athens, Georgia, in 2014 by brothers Nick and Peter Dale. Some Condor products, like their pecan pie truffle, represent the brothers’ connection not only to Ecuador, but to Georgia, where they grew up.
French Broad Chocolate | Asheville, NC
Founders Jael Skeffington and Dan Rattigan hand-craft award-winning chocolate bars and bonbons that reflect regional ingredients, as exemplified in their Asheville Grown Collection. French Broad’s production facility was damaged in late September 2024 by the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Helene but thankfully is now producing world-class chocolate once again.
LaRue Fine Chocolate | Greenville, SC
In her shop in the Village of West Greenville, which is also a fine cocktail lounge, Elizabeth McDaniel and her team temper blocks of select chocolate and turn them into irresistible bonbons with names like Sweet Kentucky (bourbon caramel in a dark chocolate shell) and Scheherazade (orange cardamom milk chocolate ganache rolled in pistachios).
Olive & Sinclair | Nashville, TN
Tennessee owes its first bean-to-bar chocolate company (est. 2007) to Scott Witherow. Scott, who holds a degree from Le Cordon Bleu London, and his production manager, Jason Thompson, slow-roast organic single-origin beans to make small batches of barks, bars, brittles, and caramels. Olive & Sinclair’s decadent Duck Fat Caramels are award-winning.
This story by M. Linda Lee appears in our winter 2025 issue.
WANDER » Taste of Europe
Heights House Hotel is a quintessential blend of charm, history, and hospitality
SARAH SHEPHERD WON’T LET AN OPPORTUNITY PASS HER BY—even if she must create it. On walks with her husband, Jeff, in Raleigh’s Boylan Heights neighborhood, the enterprising Shepherd had a vision: to purchase and restore the Italianate mansion Montford Hall into a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel.
The catch? The historic home was not for sale. Undeterred, Shepherd presented an offer, and she and Jeff soon became part of the property’s nearly 200-year history—the stately mansion, commissioned by William Montford Boylan in 1858, was theirs.
The Shepherds worked with Maurer Architecture, Greg Paul Builders, and Bryan Costello Design to restore and renovate the mansion, which opened in 2021 as Heights House Hotel, perched atop the city’s highest point. The boutique hotel’s nine suites feature Nespresso machines, luxe linens and bath products, and cleverly disguised televisions that hang like artwork. Sunlight pours in through tall arched windows, splashing across original hardwood floors.
Through Heights House, the Shepherds continue a historic legacy and have created a soulful place to celebrate, connect, or simply unwind. One visit will not be enough.
See Blair Knobel’s full story in our winter 2025 edition.
DATEBOOK »
Upcoming events on our radar
Thru May 4, 2025. Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South. International African American Museum, Charleston, SC.
Mar 23–26. Hospice du Rhône. Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN.
Mar 30–Apr 1. 2025 Biophilic Leadership Summit. Serenbe, Chattahoochee Hills, GA.
May 4. Stall Three Studio Spring Collection Launch. Laurens, SC.
May 23–June 8. Spoleto Festival USA. Charleston, SC.
FROM THE ARCHIVES »
Two special pieces published in April 2023
SOUL GOOD DISPATCH: Past Meets Future
WANDER: Garden Delight
Our spring 2025 edition—The Momentum Issue—will be in subscribers’ mailboxes later this month!
This issue features mesmerizing work by cover artist Jared Small » travel intel from New Orleans’ hoteliers and tastemakers Jayson Seidman and Paris Neill » interviews with Fine Arts Center grads Adia Victoria and Rory Scovel » traveling bluesman Johnny Burgin » Asheville chef and media personality Katie Button » the Southeast’s best listening bars » and more.
