Hospitality & Tourism

NEWS - Hospitality & Tourism

SBJ Staff Report

April 2, 2012 – It’s a company that’s found success in a tough business, during a tough economy.  The SERG Restaurant Group of Hilton Head Island completed its WiseGuys Restaurant and Lounge’s expansion last week, located at 1513 Main Street, Hilton Head Island.

“Beyond WiseGuys’ stainless steel doors and casually sophisticated lounge, enter through a rich wood-paneled red-glowing hallway and into the stylishly contemporary and comfortable WG Steak dining room,” according to Steve Carb, president of SERG.

WiseGuys began their renovations and expansion on January 2nd, 2012, reopening their doors March 15th, and now features a new 60-seat dining room, open kitchen and expanded menu featuring amazing culinary creations.

“A lot of our inspiration comes from our customers and from our travels,” said Carb last week. “We always wanted to create a steakhouse concept.  When the space adjacent to WiseGuys became available, we felt the opportunity was ideal.  The synergy of combining both WiseGuys and a steakhouse concept provides not only an amazing enhancement to something we already had, but it gave us the chance to meet the needs of our customers - who wanted a great steakhouse.  We traveled the country, we researched, we put together a great team to execute the concept, and this is our end result.”

WiseGuys offers a sophisticated menu, an award winning wine list, cutting edge design and genuine southern hospitality, he adds.  The WiseGuys’ new menu features hand-cut bone-in steaks aged a minimum of 28 days for maximum flavor and tenderness, offering a contemporary twist on the classic steakhouse. 

And, he’s added new ‘Signature Entrees’ including seafood creations, such as their Crispy Scored Whole Flounder finished with an orange and ginger glaze or the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass served alongside a stir fry of crisp, fresh vegetables and pickled shiitakes.  Vegetarians will be pleased with his ‘Between the Sheets,’ a free form vegetable ravioli with goat cheese and an aromatic parmesan broth.

The Hilton Head Chamber of Commerce is helping to host a ribbon cutting on Monday, April 2nd, 2012 at 4:30pm. The public is invited.

In addition to WiseGuys, the SERG family of restaurants includes Giuseppi’s Pizza and Pasta, One Hot Mama’s, Frankie Bones Restaurant and Lounge, Black Marlin Bayside Grill & Hurricane Bar, Skull Creek Boathouse, and The Lodge Craft Beer and Growler Bar.

NEWS - Hospitality & Tourism

SBJ Staff Report

March 26, 2012 - The City of Savannah’s Cultural Affairs Department is seeking board members for the third 2012 Asian Festival Committee. The Asian Festival is one of Georgia’s largest Asian events that celebrate authentic Asian culture, and takes place every year at the Savannah Civic Center boasting at least 18,000- 20,000 attendees. Last year, we had a record breaking number of 60,000 attendees.

The Savannah Asian Festival is free courtesy of the City of Savannah, and will take place this year on Saturday June 23, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Festival participants enjoy live stage performances, a sampling of exotic cuisine from across the continent and a cultural marketplace that features traditional arts, crafts, fashions, and treasures unique to each nation. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Asian-American volunteers work together every year to present this celebration of Asian countries and cultures.

Last year, the participants in the Asian Festival represented the cultures of Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Polynesia, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, the Middle East, and India.

The City is inviting the public to attend a meeting on April 4 to network, stay connected, and learn more about the event.  The meeting will be held at the Department of Cultural Affairs’ office at 9 W. Henry Street, on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 6 p.m.

For more information or to RSVP, email Erin Seals at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or call             912-651-6417  

NEWS - Hospitality & Tourism

SBJ Staff Report

Feb 20, 2012 - Amy Gaster and Carrie Efird, co-owners of Tybee Vacation Rentals (TVR), have announced that the company will hold a ribbon cutting this week on Weds, Feb. 22 to announce the new company’s linen and housekeeping services at a new satellite location.  The ribbon cutting will take place at the new facility at 4:00 pm, with a reception following until 6:00 pm.  Tybee Mayor Jason Buelterman and Tybee Island Better Home Town representatives will attend the ceremony.

The partners purchased the commercial property at 407 Butler Avenue in the summer of 2011 and have been busy making needed upgrades.  The property will be utilized for linen processing and storage, and other housekeeping related purposes.  “Tybee Clean” will function as the Property Care division of Tybee Vacation Rentals, providing housekeeping and linen services exclusively to TVR clients (property owners and guests). 

TVR has always managed a full-service housekeeping and linen program for their homeowners, but the new facility will enable the company to efficiently clean and sanitize their 160+ properties and provide the necessary linens to accommodate over 25,000 annual guests.  

They’ve installed state of the art equipment at Tybee Clean, which is an eco-friendly facility using Ozone to minimize energy and water consumption, lower chemical usage, and reduction of waste water contamination. 

The facility will allow TVR to control its linen costs, as well.  The company’s staff members have successfully completed extensive training in preparation for launching these enhanced housekeeping and laundry services, according to the owners.

The Tybee Clean building façade has benefited from a bright pink makeover, TVR’s signature color, a welcomed improvement to the streetscape along the Highway 80 commercial corridor.

NEWS - Hospitality & Tourism

SBJ Staff Report

Feb 13, 2012 - Key to Savannah was named the ‘2011 Business of the Year’ by Savannah local merchant organization ‘Buy Local Savannah” at the group’s recent annual awards luncheon.

Buy Local held their annual awards luncheon at the Johnny Harris Banquet Hall on January 26.  The event was attended by the Buy Local board, group members, and guests.  Each year Buy Local honors those businesses and individuals that have made major contributions by promoting local sales from themselves, but more importantly from other locally owned and operated businesses. 

Key to Savannah was launched by managing partner Bob Letcher, and business partner Jack Scott, in 2009 as a one-click stop to everything you need to know about Savannah for both tourists and local residents. The website company offers maps and reviews to events and activities.

Key to Savannah’s website, www.keytosavannah.com, was the driving force in winning this award, accordiong to Buy Local Savannah. The website was designed and developed by eMarketSouth, a Savannah website design and technology launched 12 years ago.