Sundown Lodge – Coming to Savannah’s Wilmington Island

Keith Latture admits he is always paying attention to what and where he is eating when he is on the road. He also admits to enjoying a meal here, there or anywhere-usually with his family- and has found himself asking a simple question. “Why can’t we have something like this in Savannah?”

It’s a question those of us who are invested-to whatever extent-in the local food scene ask all the time. It has happened to me a few dozen times over the years. You travel to another city, you enjoy a fantastic meal at a fantastic price and then you realize ‘Something like this would do well in Savannah.’

Guilty as charged. Both me and Keith. And if you’re honest, you’ve done it as well.

If you recognize his name, you should. Keith is the man behind the very popular Sandfly BBQ in Savannah. Its original location in Sandfly and the downtown Savannah location at the Streamliner Diner at Barnard and Henry Streets in the Victorian District.

Believe it or not, it has been almost 15 years for Keith in Savannah. 13 of this have been Sandfly BBQ.

Two locations of popular BBQ will keep you plenty busy. That said, there was always a desire for a 3rd spot. There was no rush. There was no sense of urgency. If it happened, it would have to be right. If it didn’t happen any time soon, well, Keith was more than fine with that as well.

“If I did it,” he says “I’d have to own the property and downtown was out of my price range.”

Enter the car pool dad.

“My kids go to school out here on Wilmington Island. I’m out here every day. Like EVERY day.” he says. “So I saw this building was available. It was sitting here already set up as a restaurant. It had great bones and a great view. So I bought it.”

Like we said, the original plan was a 3rd Sandfly BBQ. The more time he spent in his new spot, the less he liked that idea. “It just didn’t feel right. Besides there are already a couple of BBQ spots out here on the islands.”

The structure up for discussion is an A frame building just over the bridge onto Wilmington Island from Whitemarsh on Johnny Mercer Boulevard. The last restaurant to occupy the space was Little Italy Italian Restaurant. If you live on the island, then you know exactly where it is. If you don’t, it’s only a matter of time before you do. Why?

This is going to be different.

“I want something comfortable.” Keith says. “I want something that will invite you to hang out for a while. Enjoy some good seafood and beer. Maybe watch a ball game.”

The name of this new restaurant is Sundown Lodge. Keith tells the story of sitting in the empty restaurant, pre-demolition with a friend. “We were throwing ideas around when he said ‘you know, I’ve got this old sign. I don’t know much of anything about where it came from, but it was a place called Sundown Lodge.”

And that was that. We’ve all been there.

“It was a moment.” Keith says. “He pulled up a photo of the sign and that was it. No other names were ever discussed.”

His next step was to settle on a concept. He knew the direction he wanted to go in, but-despite his background as a fine dining chef (he’s a CIA Grad) he knew he wasn’t going to write this menu or execute the food. The search began for a chef.

“We spent a lot of time trying a lot of places.” He says “We spent 4 days in New Orleans eating 4 or 5 meals a day. Those were the places I enjoyed the most.”

“I really like the feel at Leon’s in Charleston as well.” he says.

Keith believes great food doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive food. He regularly refers to those old, weathered dive type joints in a city like New Orleans where you can get some of the best fried oysters you’ve ever had and a cold beer and not feel like you have to pay outrageous instagram/hipster prices.

“I realize it is new, but we want this place to feel like it has always been here.”

Some of the chairs he bought are from the old Johnny Harris restaurant on Victory Drive. He’s hired a branding firm in Atlanta to help him give this space a definite old school look.

In the kitchen? Reid Henninger. A veteran chef who has spent time in both Charleston and New Orleans. His stops in Charleston include Edmunds Oast and Kinfolk.

“We spent a lot of time talking about what I am looking for. I explained in detail who the people of Wilmington Island are and what they are looking for.” Keith says. “When he cooked for us, I knew it immediately.”

“He gets it.”

What he gets is what we’ve already mentioned, you can offer great food at a great price. Great oysters don’t have to cost $36 a dozen. And they certainly won’t at Sundown Lodge.

“I will let Reid have the full operation here. There are guidelines I think we should stay within, but otherwise, he will do what he does, and its fantastic.”

Fried chicken will be a regular on the menu, as will the seafood. Fried Shrimp and Oysters and raw. The oysters figure to play a major role in the concept.

“We may have some BBQ on there as well.” Keith says “It would be easy enough to bring some from Sandfly for Pork sandwiches or something, but we’ll see. We will discuss it.”

The build out is on-going. The hope is to be ready to go late February. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to circle March 1-ish on your calendar. Of course we’ll keep you posted.

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