Beer, pretzels, and a lot more at Bay Street Biergarten

While I’m not a big beer drinker, I do enjoy a cold one every once in a while. And beer lover or not, you really should make a trip to Bay Street Biergarten located at 549 East Bay Street next to the post office. It’s a great spot with unique beers and a state of the art tap system where you can even pour your own suds.

This former railroad depot building has been impressively rebuilt and also has a great outdoor patio. Their intent was to represent a large German beer hall with high ceilings and communal tables but with a cutting edge “pour your own” tap system. It’s a lot of fun, you buy a gift card for whatever amount you want, place it on the card reader on the table and use an ipad to select the brew you want. It records how much beer was poured and the cost per ounce. Voila, it’s that simple but watch out, you don’t want to pour too much foam.

The food is great there too. Steve loves the peppered beef jerky served in a pint glass and I love the barley mushroom salad and the pretzels. Lots of tvs and it’s going to be a great spot to watch the Super Bowl as they are having a wing eating contest, corn hole tourney, pig roast and a whole lot more! And when you go there, ask for Ryan and tell him Meg “sent ya”, he’s one of the owners and a great guy. And here’s the link to their website for more info/menus: http://baystreetbiergarten.com/

Forbes Magazine says Charleston is a great place to retire

The good press for Charleston continues as Forbes Magazine just listed the top 25 places to retire in 2014 and yup, Charleston made it. The business publication noted several attributes that make it an attractive spot to spend the golden years, including its water frontage, warm climate, strong economy, favorable state taxes and low crime. It also said the cost of living is about on par with the national average.

For the complete list, click here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2014/01/16/the-best-places-to-retire-in-2014/?ss=personalfinance

I have a number of clients who have retired and I cannot think of one who has any regrets about choosing Charleston. And why should they? The beaches, the golf, the food, the weather, the list goes on and on. Retirement is still some years away for me but I’m thinking Charleston will be a wonderful spot to spend the golden years . . .

More evidence of Charleston’s “Big Time” status . . .

Charleston may not have a major league sports team yet but they now have a major league commercial real estate office soon to locate on Daniel Island. Jones Lang LaSalle recently announced their intent to establish a corporate office in Charleston. Their confidence in the strength of the local commercial real estate market is evidence that Charleston is becoming “Big Time.”

JLL is the world’s 2nd largest commercial real estate firm with over $46 billion of real estate assets under management. And they have chosen Daniel Island as their location for their first office in the state of South Carolina. (For complete details, click here for the JLL press release: http://www.us.jll.com/united-states/en-us/news/2632/jll-expands-carolinas-operations-with-new-office-in-charleston) An interesting fact about the company is that for the sixth year in a row, Jones Lang LaSalle was named one of the ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ by the Ethisphere Institute, an international organization that promotes best practices in business ethics, corporate and anti-corruption.

Mike White, who I profiled in an earlier blog post, will be heading the local office of JLL. He’s very excited about the future of Charleston’s commercial real estate market and noted that this will be the Chicago-based firm’s smallest U.S. office. “They see Charleston as an emerging market for growth in the commercial real estate in the years ahead. That continued investment is a sign to the aerospace industry and other industries that this is a place that Boeing has vetted and is committed to.” Congratulations Mike and welcome to the “Big Time!”

December 2013 sales figures

Wow, it’s been quite a year on Daniel Island and here are the sales figures from December, 2013 capping off one of our best years! Thanks to everyone and 2014 looks to be even better . ..

For my number crunchers — http://www.danielisland.com/real-estate-activity/current-activity/

“The Short Game”– a gem of a movie!

Are you looking for a family friendly, emotional and inspiring movie? This is it! My nephew told me about this Netflix movie and I absolutely loved it. This charming little documentary profiles young golfers pursuing their dreams of a world championship at Pinehurst, NC.

Here’s the description of the movie and I think it is spot on: THE SHORT GAME follows the lives of eight of the best 7-year old golfers in the world as they train for and compete in the World Championships of Junior Golf. The annual tournament held at golfing mecca Pinehurst, North Carolina, brings in 1500 young golfers from 54 different countries and determines who will be crowned golf’s next phenom. Eight stories entwine to form a fascinating and often funny portrait of a group of very young athletes and their families, in which the narrow-focused, peculiar and highly competitive junior golf subculture becomes both a window into contemporary global society and an inspiring reflection of the human condition.

In short, just watch it and enjoy it with your kids, your golf partner, or life partner. Interesting fact about this movie is that Justin Timberlake and his wife Jessica Biel are the executive producers of this little gem. And here’s a 2:40 minute trailer of the movie — Enjoy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANK YOU!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2014 is here and hopefully you’re not shaking too many cobwebs out of your brain from whatever you did last night . . . I just wanted to wish everyone peace and health for the upcoming year and thank all of you for your best wishes. I’ve really enjoyed my foray back into the blogosphere and wanted to thank you for your kind and funny comments.

And I also wanted to thank you for your support as I was humbled by some attention that I recently received, primarily driven by my PR guy, Steve. I’m very hesitant to mention this but he insisted so in case you missed it in The Moultrie News, or The Daniel Island News, or The Post and Courier, I recently received an award from the Five Star Professional Ranking Organization. Here is the link to the Post and Courier article and the end of my self promotion. (You wil have to scroll down a bit – http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20131221/PC2110/131229862/.) But thanks to all of you who voted!

2014 looks to be a great year on Daniel Island and again, my best wishes and thanks to all of you for your support. Keep reading and I promise more fun stuff in the upcoming year!