Chef Stanhope (Credit: Bella Natale, Saltina Graphics)
Chef Jason Stanhope is reestablishing one of Sullivan’s Island’s most beloved restaurants - Sullivan’s Fish Camp. The restaurant changed hands in March 2025 to new owners Wes and Betsy Fuller, Jeremy Graves and Stanhope and since May 1, the chef has been on-site following previous roles at downtown establishments FIG and Lowland. The James Beard Award-winning chef calls the opportunity a “homecoming of sorts.”
Since May 1, Stanhope has been on-site at Sullivan’s Seafood & Bar following previous roles at downtown establishments FIG and Lowland. The James Beard Award-winning chef calls the opportunity a “homecoming of sorts.”
“When I came to the beach, I just felt a calmness in an industry that’s not very calm,” he told Holy City Sinner. “I’m coming back to something more homegrown.”
Stanhope has been reinventing the restaurant’s original menu—which debuted in 2022—while staying true to its fish camp-style roots.
“We want to establish what a fish camp is in our neck of the woods,” he said, expressing his love for the fish camps he’s visited along the Eastern Seaboard. “They all tell their own story based on where they’re at, and that’s what we want to do [with Sullivan’s Fish Camp].”
For Stanhope, that means keeping fish camp staples on the menu—including fried fish and hush puppies.
“We want to be approachable to families and beachgoers—people who are coming off the beach with sandy toes at 3 p.m.,” he said. “But we also wanted to add in some brushstrokes, like the Lowcountry boil. We took some of the classic fish camp dishes and anchored them more to the roots that made them special.”
For example, the fried fish, shrimp and hush puppies are now battered with locally milled cornmeal.
“We really pride ourselves on sourcing products locally. We’re in corn country, and we get some of the most delicious corn that’s milled right on Edisto by Greg Johnsman,” said Stanhope, who added that fish and produce are also locally sourced.
He has also tweaked the restaurant’s original hush puppy recipe.
“We came up with a smaller hush puppy/tot recipe to keep them creamier so they don’t dry out as easily,” he explained.
Stanhope also wanted to elevate the raw bar offerings.
“We’ve elevated our raw bar and chilled seafood starter selections,” he said. “We tuck them into these big ice platters that are really celebratory and visually stunning—that set the tone for a communal and jovial dining experience we’re trying to create.”
Aesthetically, diners may also notice some “small baby changes” to the restaurant’s decor.
“I love the way that dining room makes me feel. It hits on very nostalgic vibes for me,” said Stanhope. New additions include six comfy captain’s chair barstools, which he noted have “elevated our bar scene.”