A quick chat with Porter and Pig’s Tam Van Kirk and Chef Austin Bradford
Why did you buy Porter and Pig?
Tam: My daughter went to college at Samford and I wanted to be closer to her so I started looking for an opportunity to do something to have my own business, and I somehow ended up at Hilton Head Island after about a year of looking, and I just walked into Porter and Pig and fell in love with it. It had a great vibe.
Was it for sale?
Tam: It was. It had been for sale for two years.
Was that what got you in the door? Like, ‘Hey, let me go look at this place that’s for sale,’?
Tam: That’s exactly what happened. I actually had looked at a couple places up in Beaufort as well—actually, all the way along Charleston. I love South Carolina. I kind of thought I was going to end up in Charleston, just because I’ve always been a bit more of a city kind of girl, but Porter and Pig… as soon as I walked in I knew that was the spot for me.
What was it about it that said, ‘this is it’?
Tam: You know, there was a lot of different things going on that night. It wasn’t so much the decor of Porter and Pig, but the previous owner was there, and she was incredible. She had a bartender with her that had a great personality, there was a small band playing right there at the doorway, and it just felt like I was home. It felt like a great space, and I could see so much potential when I walked in the door—that’s what I used to do for the plastic surgeons, I mean, they already were successful on their own, but my job was to go in and find a way to improve and make things a little bit better. So when I saw Porter and Pig, I saw all those different things.
Now, if I understand correctly, the plan is to change this over to a brunch-all-day type concept, is that accurate?
Tam: No, actually, we’re going to start with Boozy Breakfast, and we go to Bottomless Brunch. We actually have Tipsy Tea from 2pm to 4pm, and then we go to a Sodded Square Supper, which is a very substantial menu. And then we also have desserts as well, and cocktails—all that good stuff.
What is the difference between Boozy Breakfast and Bottomless Brunch? It kind of sounds like a blurred line/gray area right there where it’s kind of the same thing, yeah?
Austin: So with the Boozy Breakfast we’re doing more so pastry-like stuff that are infused with different alcohols; donuts, cupcakes, that kind of stuff.
Tam: More so fun breakfast items, where Bottomless Brunch is pretty serious. Austin has created a Wagyu burger that has a house-made bourbon bacon jam.
Austin: Yeah, it’s an 8oz beef patty, it’s done with my bourbon bacon jam I make in house. I’ve got an herb truffle aioli that I put on there as well, over a bed of arugula, and it’s done with a smoked Gouda cheese. It’s pretty phenomenal. We just tested the recipe recently and we’re looking to have it be the best burger on the island.
Tam: It’s incredible.
And then at nighttime the name changed again, how will that change what you’re doing?
Tam: So, Sodded Square Supper has a lot of the favorites that were there before, but Austin has also looked at that menu and found ways to improve on it. We have probably the best house-made caesar salad dressing on there, because we’ve also have someone who’s come to us from a 17 year background that’s working with Austin at that dinner hour. He has seventeen years in the restaurant business and he’s incredible, too. So he just has a lot of really good foods and, you know, it’s challenging because people always thought of Porter and Pig as just a bar, and I hear them say things like, “I would never go there to eat,” but we have an incredible Cuban pressed sandwich, and now we have a five way gourmet grilled cheese, but we also have pasta on there, and different things that weren’t on there. It’s definitely not just a bar menu.
Austin: The main thing I pride myself with this menu is not only just going through all the recipes that were on hand before, but I was able to take my own recipes that I’ve carried with me over the years and kind of doctor them up a little bit to work for this menu. And the big thing with our menu is it’s not a huge menu, so it gives me the opportunity to put a little extra love into it and make a lot of stuff fresh, in house, using fresh herbs and what not.
Sounds to me like you guys have been developing this menu since the day you bought the place, yeah? And it has taken this long to kind of get comfortable with everything?
Austin: Well, I’ve spent only two months doing this, just putting my heart and soul into it.
Tam: A lot of hours. And we’ve also changed, you know, we changed the entire feeling inside Porter and Pig. Instead of feeling so much like a bar now, it feels kind of like your living room. It’s really cool and unique and different; I just have a very artsy, creative design to it. It feels like you are home when you sit down in there, and that’s what I’ve had several customers tell me and it’s just the best compliment.
Six days a week? Seven? How are you going to do this?
Austin: Six days a week. Closed on Sundays.
Tam: And we also put a baby grand in Porter and Pig because, you know, the bands on Hilton Head Island are so talented, there’s so much talent here, but it’s unfortunate that our space is so small, so sometimes it’s a little overwhelming. So I decided I wanted to put a baby grand in there so that we could have live music but a little bit more low key so that people would be able to eat and talk, rather than just sit and drink a beer and listen to a band. Because the food’s amazing and we want them to experience that whole vibe. And also, along those lines, all of the TVs play old movies; different movies, but it’s the same one on all of them at the same time. So we have them turned down with our cool, jazzy, house music. And so you’re sitting there watching Cary Grant on the screen, listening to cool, jazzy music while you’re having Austin’s amazing food, and my staff—everybody there is so… it’s taken a year to find the right people, but they’re incredible, they’re hard workers, and they’re super kind.
Porter and Pig
The Village at Wexford
Hilton Head Island, SC
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Porer
