Space, parking issues spur restaurant’s move off peninsula

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The booming Park Circle area in North Charleston will add another restaurant Feb. 8 when Tattooed Moose officially opens its new location at 4845 Chateau Ave.

The move is one in a series of restaurant openings in the area. Paddock & Whisky and newcomer Three Sirens opened their East Montague Avenue doors in recent months.

The Tattooed Moose, hailed for its duck fat fries, announced in August 2021 it would move from the upper peninsula’s Morrison Drive location to Park Circle.

A lack of parking and the need for a larger space to host events like oyster roasts are reasons for the move, said Megan Ladd, marketing director for the restaurant group owned by Mike and Jen Kulick. Their portfolio also includes the Tattooed Moose on Johns Island and Caroline's Aloha Bar in West Ashley.

The Tattooed Moose West Ashley location in the Citadel Mall permanently closed in June 2020.

“We have had a great run downtown and we were one of the first restaurants in that area, and we sort of outgrew the space in that area and parking had become an issue down there,” Ladd said. “They're building a hotel right next door (on Morrison Drive). You have to figure all of the construction with trucks and everything that comes with that, it was just going to be a lot when people are already kind of fighting for parking down there and parking is one of the main complaints that we've had in the location.”

The new space in Park Circle, which was formerly an office building, has its own parking lot and room for both indoor and outdoor stages as well as a large area outdoors for events, Ladd said.

“It's a huge building; it might be even bigger than our Johns Island location,” Ladd said. “We saw the opportunity in this building out in Park Circle, and (that area), it’s growing.”

The downtown location’s last day will be Jan. 23 with a music showcase of all the bands that played there regularly. From there, management will take two weeks to move equipment and other items to the new restaurant.

Ladd said most of the staff from the downtown location will move to Park Circle and more people will be hired to accommodate the larger restaurant space.

The Park Circle location required an extensive buildout of the former space that previously housed several businesses, including King of Pops and a music studio.

“We tore down all of those studio spaces and made it into one big space,” Ladd said.

A large, colorful mural of a monster’s face by Charleston artist Patch Whisky remains on the outside of the building.

Supply chain issues for building materials and refrigeration delayed opening day, which had previously been announced for November 2021 on social media.

“It has taken the longest to get the refrigeration equipment,” Ladd said. “Usually, we would do a soft opening if it was a brand-new place, but because we're going to be pulling all of the staff from downtown, we’re just going to open.”

The restaurant’s opening will come about a month before the annual Park Circle Saint Patrick’s Day celebration, an event that brings thousands to the street festival.

“We're going to blink and it’s going to be here,” Ladd said.

A job fair will be held at the Park Circle location from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 1 for anyone interested in employment.