Everyone knows that Acme Lowcountry Kitchen is a great place to experience a taste of what makes Southern coastal cuisine so great. Crab cakes, scallops, shrimp and flounder are on the menu, of course, along with a few dishes touting homespun names like the Hunley Trio and the Yorktown that link it to staples of local history. Yet the location of the restaurant is itself a staple of local history, dating back to long before the Acme was around.
An earlier version of the restaurant was named the Acme Cantina and was owned by the Swain family, longtime residents of the Isle of Palms. But what many island residents probably don’t know is that the site was once also home to a small vacation retreat called the Buccaneer Cottages.
Island resident Gail Swain Pohl explained that her family bought the place, cottages and all, from John and Nan Auletto. The couple had originally operated a popular restaurant there known then as Huck’s. As one of the first restaurants on the island, it was the go-to place for residents in the mid-20th century. Huck’s was known not only for its neighborhood atmosphere, but for the display of classic watercolor paintings done by the locally-acclaimed artist and naturalist Anne Worsham Richardson, nicknamed the “Charleston Bird Lady,” and owner of the Birds I View Gallery in Charleston’s French Quarter.
By the 1960s, the Aulettos had expanded their venture into the hospitality industry by adding 11 small wooden structures behind the restaurant. Visitors from across the state enjoyed the affordable vacation rentals provided in the simple lodging located just a block from the beach and the excitement along Ocean Boulevard.
When the Swains purchased the property in 1966, Pohl was just a youngster. She said her first job was cleaning the cottages and making sure the guests there were comfortable. It was a family affair since her parents had full-time jobs off-site as well. As time went by, several of the cottages were torn down, and by the 1980s, much of the property was rented to businesses and known as Harbor Oaks Place. But the Swain family continued to operate the restaurant, which they called the Acme Cantina, until current owners Bobby Simons, Rodger Tully and Charles Arena bought it in recent years.
Obviously, things have changed a lot on the Isle of Palms since the days of Huck’s and the Buccaneer Cottages. But a couple of things that have remained the same are the island’s small-town feel and the allure of anything local. The spot at 31 J.C. Long Blvd. across from IOP City Hall is a place where both can still be found.
By Mary Coy
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