DANIEL ISLAND — A beloved restaurant located a few blocks from the Wando River will serve its last customers this month. But the space at 115 River Landing Drive won't stay vacant for long.
Sermet's Courtyard, owned by longtime chef Sermet Aslan, will close on Aug. 20. An accomplished artist whose work hangs on the walls, Aslan is getting out of the restaurant business to focus on his artwork, which is currently featured in the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.
Born to a family of bakers in Turkey, Aslan has been a fixture in Charleston's restaurant scene for more than 30 years. In 1993, he opened Sermet’s Grill on Skylark Drive in West Ashley. Restaurants in downtown Charleston, Daniel Island and James Island followed in that order.
Sermet Aslan, photographed here in 2016.
The Daniel Island restaurant, the last to remain, has served the area since 2011. As the community around it has flourished, Sermet's Courtyard has been a reliable source for contemporary but comforting cuisine with flashes of global inspiration. Prince Edward Island mussels with lemon curry cream, Moroccan beef spring rolls, hand-pulled mozzarella and scallop risotto are among the selections currently on the menu.
Aslan told The Post and Courier that it's "bittersweet" to leave the industry after so many years. But he's grateful for the many patrons who have embraced his eclectic style of cuisine and décor.
"They were very open to my ideas, and that's not something that I'll forget," Aslan said.
Aslan's decision to focus on his art full-time was solidified when he found restaurateurs to take over the Daniel Island address. Fans of German cuisine will likely known their name, for Nick and Kelly Ruhotina are among the only people in town with a menu solely dedicated to items like schnitzel and spaetzle.
Rather than replicating their Mount Pleasant restaurant, Nick's German Kitchen, on Daniel Island, the Ruhotinas will serve food and wine rooted in European flavors at Vinea Courtyard Kitchen, set to open in September.
Patrons can expect risotto, chicken, fresh-made pasta, and daily fish and meat specials when the restaurant debuts next month, said Nick Ruhotina, who was born in Germany. He met his U.S.-born wife Kelly there. The couple's son Devin, a College of Charleston student on the tennis team, will work part-time at Vinea, making it a family affair.
The decision to focus more broadly on Mediterranean food stems from a long-held passion, Nick Ruhotina said. When the family moved to Charleston in 2019, they opened Mezzo European Cuisine at 1150 Hungry Neck Blvd., focusing on flavors from Italian, German, Austrian and French cuisines. When customers began asking for more and more German food, Mezzo was transformed into Nick's.
The opening of Vinea — Latin for vineyard — will mark a return to the style of cuisine the couple initially introduced to Mount Pleasant.
Minor kitchen renovations will take place ahead of Vinea's opening. All Sermet's Courtyard employees will have the opportunity to continue working at the River Landing Drive restaurant, Nick Ruhotina said.
