Sells (Credit: Imran Stephen, Stephen Media Group)
After a few unforeseen delays, Parcel 32 will finally welcome diners to 442 King St. in June. Chef de cuisine Shaun Brian Sells was promoted to executive chef after the depature of Chef Digby Stridiron. Chef Sells' menu will reportedly showcase fresh herbs, produce, meats, and fish from local farms and fishermen.
The 104-seat restaurant will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30 pm to 10 pm with bar service beginning at 4:30 pm. The restaurant includes a 60-seat main dining room, a 15-seat bar, a “living room,” a 10-seat communal table, a 16-seat piazza, and a 60-seat private dining space.
Sells joined Parcel 32's culinary team in late 2017. A native of Coral Bay, St. John, Sells is a graduate of Johnson & Wales and worked at several well-respected restaurants and hotels alongside talented chefs. Among his accolades, Sells was named a top “30 under 30” chef by Zagat and was nominated for a Rising Star by StarChefs.
Parcel 32's menu will include small, large, and seasonal shareable plates, snacks, and desserts with prices ranging from $7 to $38. Highlights include Vertical Roots clipped lettuce salad with radish, carrots, Split Creek feta, sorrel, smoked strawberry vinaigrette and cassava chip; pecan flour croquettes with pickled peppers, pimento cheese and bacon powder; sumac day boat catch with black garlic aioli, grilled bok choy, benne and citrus; and Josper fired broiler hen with honey and thyme brine, City Roots mixed mushrooms, bitter greens, roasted shallot red wine vinaigrette and spring onion. Handcrafted cocktails from lead bartender Steven Huddleston and a selection of wines will also be available.
The Charleston single-home housing Parcel 32 was built in 1837 at the beginning of the Victorian era. Eventually it operated as the peninsula's highest-volume bakery for 75 years until 1931. Parcel 32 references the original block of 442 King St. noted on Charleston's 1888 map by Sanborn Map & Publishing Co. Behind the home was The Tower Depot train station which was the local passenger and freight depot.
Parcel 32’s property and building includes a courtyard, living garden, and a custom-made oyster chandelier. Located near the bar entrance, the chandelier is made of locally-used oyster shells. The walls of the restaurant’s upstairs private dining space are adorned with “Carolina Railroad Band” artwork by Colleen Hanlon, which was reinvented and enlarged from an 1837 newspaper clipping. The counter stools at the bar's community table are made of reclaimed bargeboard from the 1800s that once drifted down the Mississippi River carrying goods to New Orleans. Historical remnants of ticket stubs for the train station found during the adjacent William Aiken House renovation are framed, parceled together, and illuminated.
For more information, visit parcel32.com.
All photos taken by Andrew Cebulka and provided by Parcel 32.
