There was a time, not all that long ago, when Savannah’s food scene was much easier to define.

Southern food. Fried chicken. Shrimp and grits. A beautiful dining room in a historic building and maybe a little bourbon on the side.

All of that still matters, of course. It is part of the reason people come here. But these days, Savannah’s food scene is growing in different directions. More chefs are looking for room to stretch. More diners are looking for something unexpected. And somewhere in the middle of that is the rising supper club scene.

One of the more interesting names in that space right now is Heeler Supper Club, which launched last September and has already built enough momentum to be booked through June.

One of the people behind it is Shannon Foeller, a chef many in Savannah first got to know during her time making gelato and ice cream at Doki Doki.

“I like to push envelopes,” Shannon said during a recent episode of the Eat It and Like It Podcast. “I like to make it different and fun and convince people to trust fall a little bit and try something that might be out of their normal wheelhouse.”

That same spirit helped create Heeler. Shannon and her business partner, George Kovach, started talking about the food they wanted to make but could not always make in their regular jobs.

“We were just sitting around talking one day about the kind of food that we wanted to make but couldn’t at our jobs,” she says. “So we were like, well, let’s make it anyway and let’s serve it to our friends in the industry.”

At first, the idea was simple: build community around food and beverage. Shannon had spent time in the Washington, D.C. area. George had spent time in Chicago. Both saw how tight-knit those restaurant communities could be.

“We wanted more of that here,” Shannon says. “Not to say that it doesn’t exist, but there’s always room for more community.”

Healer is not trying to run away from Savannah or the Lowcountry. Quite the opposite. Shannon says they absolutely lean into what is around them.

“When great fish and shrimp are literally right there, there’s no reason to not use them,” she says.

But the goal is also to break some of the sameness. The dinners are listed as 10 courses, though Shannon says they often land closer to 13 or 14 once snacks, dessert and other touches are included. The room recently expanded from 12 seats to 16, which is still small enough to keep the experience personal.

For Shannon, that intimacy is a big part of the appeal, even if the club was formed in the ‘shadows’ of social media, if you will. There were no big announcements, there were no soft opens or bright lights. There were simply some posts of beautiful food and an invitation to email them. Potential members are required to fill out a questionnaire. Allergies are addressed, of course, but also personality. This club is serious, but fun. High maintenance sticks in the mud are discouraged from participating.

“The reason that I’m in hospitality is because I love feeding people,” she says. “So literally getting to walk around and watch guests eat the food that we’re making and interact with them… is really nice.”

This summer, Heeler plans to move from two dinners per month to four, with hopes of reaching six per month by July. There is also talk of a possible local residency.

That tells you something. We’ll keep you posted on that front.

Savannah’s food scene is not just growing because more restaurants are opening. It is growing because chefs are finding new ways to cook, connect and create outside the usual boxes.

Heeler Supper Club is one of those ways.

You can find them on Instagram at @HeelerSav. Listen to the full conversation above or at Apple Pods and Spotify.

# # #