Siding repair in Beaufort, SC

11 Beaufort County food businesses and one Jasper County location received B and C grades in January health inspections conducted by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Here is a rundown of the restaurants that received the lowest ratings for the month and why they scored poorly:

Bojangles had a routine inspection on Jan. 7 and scored an 84% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:

It was reinspected on Jan. 15 and scored an 87% with a C letter grade, and again on Jan. 23 and scored a 93% with a C letter grade, both for repeated infractions.

Bojangles was last inspected on Jan. 28 and scored a 99% (A).

Johnson Creek Tavern & Restaurant had a routine inspection on Jan. 21 and scored a 71% (C). Issues noted by inspectors included:

Johnson Creek Tavern & Restaurant was reinspected on Jan. 28 and scored a 100% (A).

Basil & Bourbon, formerly Nonna Rosa, held a routine inspection on Jan. 6 and scored a 70% (C). Issues noted included:

Basil & Bourbon was reinspected on Jan. 13 and scored a 100% (A).

OKKO was inspected on Jan. 6 and scored a 70% (C). Issues noted by inspectors included:

OKKO was reinspected on Jan. 14 and scored a 99% (A).

New York City Pizza held a routine inspection on Jan. 14 and scored an 82% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:

New York City Pizza was reinspected on Jan. 23 and scored a 97% (A).

Antojitos Agustin was inspected on Jan. 13 and scored a 91% with a B letter grade for repeated infractions from a Jan. 7 inspection. Issues included:

Antojitos Agustin was reinspected on Jan. 20 and scored a 98% (A).

Bluffton Elementary School was inspected on Jan. 30 and scored a 97% with a B letter grade for a repeated infraction:

Bluffton Elementary School has not been reinspected as of Feb. 2, but one is required within 10 days.

Centro Mex Deluxe had a routine inspection on Jan. 30 and scored an 80% (B). Issues included:

Centro Mex Deluxe has not been reinspected as of Feb. 2, but one is required within 10 days.

House of Tang had a routine inspection on Jan. 12 and scored an 82% (B). Issues included:

House of Tang was reinspected on Jan. 21 and scored a 100% (A).

La Familia had a routine inspection on Jan. 13 and scored a 78% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:

La Familia was reinspected on Jan. 14 and scored a 96% (A).

Miramare Italian had a routine inspection on Jan. 13 and scored an 82% (B). Issues included:

Miramare Italian was reinspected on Jan. 21 and scored a 100% (A).

Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila had a routine inspection on Jan. 12 and scored an 85% (B). Issues included:

Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila was reinspected on Jan. 20 and scored a 100% (A).

What the grades mean

Inspectors give restaurants a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for various infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score in a reinspection.

The grade scale is as follows:

In January, the SCDA recorded 247 inspections of restaurants, schools, stores, and other food establishments in Beaufort County and 34 in Jasper County.

The agency publishes the results of these health inspections on its website.

Newer food-grade decals include a QR code that customers can scan with their phones to see a food establishment’s latest report.

How to request an inspection

If there is an establishment for which you wish to request an inspection, you can submit a concern to the SCDA by filling out the Food Safety Complaint Form.

To learn more about how the grading system and inspections work, click here.

SHELL POINT, S.C. —

Above: Initial coverage of the crash

A 46-year-old man was arrested after authorities said a pickup truck struck two pedestrians Saturday in Beaufort County and the driver left the scene.

South Carolina Highway Patrol said the crash happened about 8 p.m. near Broad River Drive when a 2022 Ram pickup traveling east hit two pedestrians.

Troopers arrested Richard Quinn Davidson early Sunday near where the crash occurred. He is charged with two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and two counts of hit-and-run, according to highway patrol.

A Shell Point resident, Emma Schoenstra, said she saw two women — whom she described as a mother and daughter — being pulled on a makeshift sled behind a vehicle before they were left in the roadway.

“They were being dragged by a rope attached to a truck on a container lid just up and down the snow, having fun,” Schoenstra said.

Schoenstra said she ran outside after the impact and helped care for the injured women while waiting for emergency crews.

“I was wrapping up their hands that were laying in the snow, wrapping up their feet, they had lost their shoes,” she said. “I was just wrapping all of their limbs that were touching the ice so they could stay warm until the ambulance got here.”

She said the driver stopped briefly before leaving.

“He did get back in his car and reversed out and left the scene,” Schoenstra said.

Authorities said the women were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their conditions were not released.

Davidson was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center around 1 a.m. Sunday and released later that afternoon, according to the report. The crash remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Initial report:

A pickup truck struck two women Saturday night in the Shell Point area of Beaufort County, where they had been sledding, authorities said.

The crash happened about 8 p.m. on Shell Point Road near Broad River Drive, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Troopers said a 2022 Ram pickup traveling east on Shell Point Road hit two pedestrians and left the scene.

A witness said two women were being towed behind a vehicle on a plastic container lid. When that vehicle made to turn around, the two were left in the road alone. Moments later, the pickup truck struck them.

Law enforcement later located the vehicle and driver.

Richard Quinn Davidson, 46, of Beaufort, was charged with hit-and-run resulting in great bodily injury and felony driving under the influence, authorities said.

Davidson was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center at 1:55 a.m. Sunday and released at 4:01 p.m. the same day, according to jail records.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

TRENDING STORIES

Snow fell in Beaufort, Port Royal and Hilton Head Island Saturday evening in an extremely rare weather event for coastal South Carolina, with the accumulation a treat for the uninitiated but potentially treacherous for drivers.

As temperatures fell, the unusual winter storm initially produced a mix of rain and specks of snow and ice in the early afternoon. By 4:30 p.m., as darkness approached, that flurry had turned to fluffy white snowflakes that floated from the gray skies like aliens in a region better known for its palmetto and live oak trees, beaches and balmy wintertime temperatures in the 60s, not its snowscapes.

By 5:30 p.m., popular landmarks like The Henry Robinson Boardwalk in Port Royal had a layer of white frosting. Snow accumulated on palmetto fronds. Residents tossed salt on sidewalks to keep ice from forming.

“I grew up in Charleston just up the road and I can count on one hand how much I’ve seen snow in my lifetime,” Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer said Saturday morning, as the city prepared for uncommonly cold weather and snow.

To be sure, snowfall as of early evening was still just a dusting. But any snow in these parts is exceptional — there’s a 9% chance of seeing snow each year, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

In the last 127 years, Beaufort has seen measurable snowfall only 11 times, according to the Beaufort History Museum: 1899, 1914, 1943, 1948, 1958, 1973, 1989, 2006, 2010, 2018 and 2025.

While a curiosity for locals, the danger heading into Saturday night and Sunday evening was that the extreme cold would turn area roads, especially bridges, into ice rinks. Usually when it snows, Cromer said, it just melts. Not this time.

Saturday evening, the National Weather Service was forecasting potentially record-breaking temperatures and dangerous windchills Sunday morning. Lows could be in the upper teens to lower 20s with “feels like” temps in the single digits.

Also in the forecast was an additional 1 to 2 inches of snow.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation had snowplows on standby just in case more snow accumulated.

One was parked near William Hilton Parkway and Squire Pope Road on Hilton Head Island Saturday afternoon.

Heavy Machine Operator Trey Woods said he was on standby in case any plowing was needed Saturday night.

Even rarer than snow falling in Beaufort County is a snow two years in a row. Last January, in 2025, 3 inches was recorded in Beaufort and 2.5 inches in Port Royal.

“We’re talking an extremely rare event if this were to happen — especially considering we just had snow last year,” Brian Haines, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, said prior to the snowfall.

The last time the area saw snow prior to 2025 was in 2018, when 3.5 inches was recorded in Beaufort and 3 inches in Port Royal.

The last time it snowed two years in a row?

In Charleston, it was 1988 and 1989, the Weather Service’s Haines said, and Savannah saw consecutive years of snow in 1917 and 1918.

The last big, memorable snowfall in the Lowcountry was the record-breaker that happened in December 1989, when more than 6 inches was recorded and the Lowcountry experienced a rare white Christmas.

Authorities urged residents to stay off the roads unless they absolutely had to venture out and to bundle up in layers.

Saturday afternoon, Gabriela Almeyda, wearing mittens and a stocking cap, scraped snow together that had accumulated on a bench in downtown Beaufort, attempting to form a snowball. The visiting girl from Florida had never seen snow before.

It was nice, she said. Her first impression: “It’s soft.”

Island Packet reporter Li Khan contributed to this story.

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) - The Lowcountry is bracing for the possibility of a winter storm that could shake up weekend plans.

People are already heading to stores to stock up on supplies, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation says they are prepared and ready to go when called.

From salt to plant blankets, people are trying to get a hold of whatever they can to prepare for what could be a wintry weekend in the Lowcountry.

“I did the best I could by buying this little handy shovel here,” Bluffton resident Thomas Rowe said. “If we do get some heavy snow, I am going to be sore for many days.”

A winter storm could bring heavy snow and ice to different parts of the state.

“Travel conditions, if we do see that type of snow falling, would become hazardous,” Secretary of Transportation for SCDOT, Justin Powell, said.

With that in mind, some people are ready to take the recommended approach of staying inside.

“If it gets icy, I’m not going anywhere,” Bluffton resident Mike Nolte said. “I’m staying home, I got a nice fireplace, so I’ll just build a fire and stay home and relax.”

And while some people are planning to stay home.

SCDOT says they already have crews out pretreating major roadways, interstates, and bridges across the state by spraying brine ahead of the storm.

That brine is made using salt that SCDOT says has been restocked after using some last week.

Officials say it will help keep the roads open as long as possible, but also help SCDOT clear the roads later.

If the need arises, SCDOT says they are ready to go into 24-hour operation starting on Friday.

That means the 3,000 employees in the department will be working around the clock in shifts, and that their 1,200 pieces of equipment will be spread out across the state to respond.

“We are prepared, we are actively working to get ready for this storm, we work through the duration of this storm, and when it is over, we will continue to work until the roads are reopened and cleared,” Powell said.

WTOC spoke with officials from Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties, who told me that right now they are just monitoring the storm and are getting together potential plans that will be used if the need arises.

Longtime owner of the popular Sea Island Carriage Company on Bay Street in downtown Beaufort, Nichole Bradley, has sold her carriage tour company after nearly eleven years in business.

Nichole is handing over the reins of her popular carriage tours to Charlotte Lawrence, owner of another local downtown tour company, Tales of the Lowcountry, which has been the only historic ghost tour available in downtown for several years.

The change is somewhat bittersweet for Bradley, who, after nearly eleven years of ownership, decided it was simply just time to trot on and follow other dreams.

“I have loved owning Sea Island Carriage Company. I’ve been in and out of the commercial carriage industry here in Beaufort for almost eighteen years, and sometimes I sit back and think about the thousands of guests we, as a company, have welcomed and the stories we’ve shared about Beaufort’s history along the way,” she said.

Nichole plans to enjoy other pursuits, but says although she is selling Sea Island Carriage Company, she will still be around because, “this work is in my blood. It’s part of who I am.” So much so, that she even plans to drive a carriage for Charlotte occasionally.

Being an ambassador to Beaufort, offering visitors their very first introduction to this special place, is something Bradley says she has never taken lightly. “I must give credit where credit is due, the horses have made all of this possible. There have been a handful of horses throughout the years, and each one holds a special place in my heart.” She said she will be keeping possession of her four remaining equine partners which will live on her 70 acre farm in Yemassee.

For Charlotte, it’s not the first horse rodeo for her either. In addition to operating Tales of the Lowcountry since 2015, Charlotte has been a Beaufort carriage tour guide for the past 23 years.

Charlotte, a Beaufort local whose family goes back several generations in town as firemen, farmers, grocery store owners, and shrimpers, and who is in love with the history of the area, will officially start running Sea Island Carriage Company after February 1st, and plans to leave everything as is. “It’s worked so well for Nichole all these years, there’s nothing to really change,” she said.

“This is the next big step for me. I want Sea Island Carriage Company to continue to showcase the history of Beaufort and our small town Southern charm,” she said.

“Many people have no idea how much Beaufort and its local citizens have left their mark on America’s history,” Lawrence said. “It’s always been important to me that people have an understanding of how phenomenal our history truly is. We have the founders, to the pirates, to the wars, the lovers, the natives, the movies, and so much more; there are so many stories to tell.”

Charlotte says she will still operate her historic ghost walking tours with Tales of the Lowcountry because she loves bringing light to Beaufort’s haunted past.

Handing over the reins wasn’t much of a challenge for Bradley, especially when she finally decided it was time. Handing them over to Charlotte was easier for her, because it is going from one local to another. One local Beaufort carriage tour driver to another. One local horse lover to another. One local tour professional to another. One lover of history to another. From one who has Beaufort in her blood, to another.

Nichole said the sale to Charlotte makes sense.

“I want everyone to know that Sea Island Carriage Company is in excellent hands,” Bradley added. “Charlotte is a Beaufort native as well and has been part of the carriage industry here for over twenty years. I couldn’t be more excited for her to take on this opportunity and I have all the faith in her to succeed.”

As Nichole reflected on her time at Sea Island Carriage Company, she also noted to thank everyone who has supported her along the way, including her company manager, Jennifer Defibaugh, who has been with her since day one as a best friend and a shoulder to lean on; and her husband, Nick, who she says has always supported her dreams and never asked her too many questions.

What does the future hold for Bradley? “We’ll just have to see what the future holds — but whatever it is, I know it will be bright and smell like horses.”

What does the future hold for Lawrence? Just stop into 930 Bay Street in historic downtown Beaufort and see for yourself.

See more local Beaufort, SC news.