Hifalutin is a new restaurant opening today on Camden’s Broad Street in the building most will remember as the Crescent Grille. Business partners Zane Jackson and Amanda Stork along with corporate chef David Schulman have developed a dining concept that “takes Southern cuisine and gives it a slightly different twist,” Jackson said.
Jackson is originally from Wilmington, N.C., but now resides in Elgin. He said he fell in love with downtown Camden and knew it was, “a unique and special place.”
“We wanted to reuse this old building and make it something new. It just needed to be done,” Jackson said.
He said his and Stork’s goal with Hifalutin is to use as much locally grown and locally produced products as possible.
“We will use local produce, local seafood, even locally produced beer and liquor,” he said.
Jackson wants to have every beer or liquor that is made locally available in the restaurant for patrons to enjoy.
When it comes to Hifalutin’s menu, Jackson describes it as a blend of the “influences of where we grew up.” Stork is from Johnston, S.C., and Jackson said that offers a distinctly Southern “home-cooking” flavor to the menu. Schulman, on the other hand, has lived and worked extensively in New Orleans, bringing what Jackson said is an “exciting” Cajun cuisine experience with him. Jackson describes himself as “from the beach,” which he said adds yet another level of experience and flavors to the overall concept.
On the menu for example is the option of Apple Moonshine Ribs, a half or full rack of ribs topped with an apple moonshine barbecue sauce.
“The moonshine is distilled at the Firefly distillery in Charleston,” Jackson said.
Then, there’s Pecan Crusted Tilapia, which uses pecans from Johnston to crust the tilapia; it’s all topped with a bourbon caramel sauce. Jackson said the dish serves as a perfect example of how he, Stork and Schulman fuse their very different influences into an interesting spin on an old classic.
Jackson added that he is looking forward to working with other businesses in downtown Camden.
“We’ve been working on the building for two months and we’ve had people stop by and ask what we’re doing. It’s really nice,” he said. “Everyone has been so welcoming. We feel like we’re the new neighbors.”
Hifalutin is located at 1035 Broad St. in Camden. It is open Tuesday through Thursday 3:30 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Beginning December 1, it will also be open for lunch Tuesday through Thursday.
For more information, call 713-7437 or visit www.facebook.com/hifalutinsc.
