Hardwood Flooring in Beaufort, SC

Parlor Doughnuts, a craft doughnut and coffee chain with shops sprinkled across the country including a growing footprint in South Carolina, is opening its first shop in Beaufort County — and it’s just getting started in the Lowcountry.

Lee and Amanda Hicks of Beaufort are franchisees for the Parlor Doughnuts whose territory includes Beaufort, Hilton Head and Savannah. The couple plans to open the first of at least three shops it is planning in the Beaufort-Hilton Head-Savannah region during the first quarter of 2025. That shop will be located in Okatie Center at 201 Okatie Village Drive, across from the road from the Food Lion and right next to Sun City.

The Okatie location will mark Parlor Doughnuts’ first location in Beaufort County and its third in South Carolina. The existing shops are in Greenville and Pawleys Island. Additional shops are planned in Johns Island and Summerville.

Parlor’s doughnuts are different and so is the atmosphere of the shops.

Parlor is known for its famous “layered doughnuts” with layers of buttery dough fried to a crisp on the outside but light and fluffy on the inside, and more than 20 toppings.

“It’s really a different doughnut,” Lee Hicks says.

More than 20 toppings range from maple bacon to bourbon caramel to honey glazed to Hicks’ favorite “chocolate chocolate.” “The toppings,” Hicks says, “are amazing.”

The shops are different, too. The Parlor name comes from the well-furnished “parlor” rooms in many 1900s Victorian homes where people received guests and talked. Parlor describes its shops as “a vintage American space that feels like a ‘parlor’ but with a modern twist.”

Besides layered doughnuts, specialty coffee and and artisanal breakfast treats, the menu will include various vegan, gluten and keto-diet friendly options.

Parlor started in Evansville, Indiana, in 2019 when Darrick Hayden, his son Noah, and restaurateur Josh Tudela combined a passion for high-quality doughnuts and specialty coffee. Parlor now operates 59 shops in 14 states and has been approved to franchise in all 50 states.

The Okatie shop is under construction, Lee Hicks said, and “it’s moving forward pretty quickly.”

The couple moved to Beaufort in June 2023 specifically to open at least three new doughnut shops in the region.

“I think it will be a big hit,” said Hicks, who grew up in Greenville. “They have a great brand, great product. They do extremely well in coastal communities.”

Lee and Amanda, Georgia residents at the time, were introduced to Parlor doughnuts while vacationing in South Carolina at Pawleys Island, which is 23 miles south of Myrtle Beach. They were looking for a career change and contacted Parlor Doughnuts and learned that the Beaufort-Hilton Head-Savannah territory was one of the last remaining markets left for franchises in South Carolina. The couple decided to go for it. “We thought it was a great market,” Hicks said.

This story was originally published December 5, 2024, 11:26 AM.

No city seems to do holidays quite like Beaufort: From Christmas tree and menorah lightings in Waterfront Park to a unique musical depicting the last Christmas on a Civil War-era plantation to a parade featuring boats bedecked in lights to spectacular fireworks over the Beaufort River, the historic city on the coast of South Carolina throws out all the stops.

The holiday spectacle begins Saturday.

Here’s a sampling of some of the larger and most popular traditions in the city you don’t want to miss throughout December.

Santa will be outside the Beaufort Candy Shoppe, 103 West St. Ext., from 1-5 p.m.

It’s Artists Sunday from noon- 4 p.m. in downtown Beaufort. Enjoy a pop-up market at The Arsenal on Craven Street. Food trucks and street musicians are part of the fun and local artists will be selling holiday gifts. The Arsenal was built in 1798 to house the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery after it fought with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Today, it is home to the Beaufort History Museum and Visitor Center.

The Gullah Kinfolk Christmas Wish is an interactive musical depicting the last Christmas before the beginning of the Civil War among the enslaved at a South Carolina plantation. 7 p.m., USCB Center for the Arts. Tickets: https://www.gullahkinfolktravelingtheater.org/christmas. “It’s the last Christmas before the Civil War ... South Carolina has just seceded from the Union ... Master’s in the Big House talking war, servants in the Quarters talking freedom coming.” The play is performed by the Gullah Kinfolk Traveling Theater.

Celebrate Night on the Town as streets close at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Merchants will be open, most offering complimentary food and drinks. On Bay Street, there will be plenty of food and activity booths hosted by non-profit organizations, and downtown restaurants will be open. The Parris Island Marine Corps Band will perform and there will be a reading of “The Night Before Christmas.” The evening concludes with the popular tree lighting at 8:30 p.m. —and there will be snow, the city promises.

▪ Celebrate and honor Gullah holiday traditions from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. with the Gullah Taste of Christmas and Rice Cook-off.

▪ Santa photos outside Beaufort Candy Shoppe, 103 West St. Ext., 1-5 p.m.

▪ The Lighted Boat Parade, hosted by the Beaufort Water festival, begins at 5:30 p.m. Grab a seat along the seawall at Waterfront Park.

The annual Christmas parade begins at 3 p.m. and typically concludes about 5 p.m. Santa will be riding atop a Beaufort-Port Royal fire truck.

View more than 150 Nativity displays from around the world will be displayed at First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort, 1201 North St. from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 6-7 and from noon-3 p.m. Dec. 8.

▪ Wreaths Across America at Beaufort National Cemetery at noon.

▪ Santa photos outside Beaufort Candy Shoppe, 103 West St. Ext., 1-4 p.m.

Santa photos outside Beaufort Candy Shoppe, 103 West St. Ext., 1-4 p.m.

Chabad Greater Hilton Head will hold the Chanukah menorah lighting, 5-6:30 p.m., Waterfront Park.

Fireworks at Waterfront Park.

The town is getting ready for the holidays and everyone is looking forward to the upcoming City of Beaufort Holiday Weekend Celebration. But there’s a few other happenings that will help you show your holiday spirit.

The weekend of December 6th through 8th will be packed with music, food, entertainment, shopping, parades – and Santa, of course!

Friday night, December 6th The weekend kicks off with Night on the Town at 6 p.m. on Friday. Bay Street will be closed to traffic. Downtown retailers will be open. Roving choirs will be singing Christmas carols and other performers will also be taking the stage as well.

The Community Bible Church Soul Patrol Puppet Team will perform at Bay and Carteret streets. Food will be available along Bay Street from vendors. Parents can bring their kiddies to have their pictures taken with Santa from 6-8 p.m. And, a recital of “The Night Before Christmas” will occur on the main stage just before the Christmas tree lighting culminates the evening around at 8pm

Saturday, December 7th The Gullah Taste of Christmas kicks off at 11 a.m. at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. With live music, a Rice Cookoff, food vendors, a kid’s village and more, the event is a beautiful celebration of Gullah traditions that will have you singing and dancing with joy.

Then, the super-popular Christmas Boat Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. – grab a seat at the park to get a great view.

Sunday, December 8th The annual Christmas Parade, led by Santa and featuring local bands and lots of floats, begins at 3 p.m. in downtown Beaufort.

There’s more!

During the Night on the Town Celebration, catch a Christmas double feature under the stars as J.P. Signature Group at Keller Williams Realty is hosting two free movies with The Grinch and The Santa Clause. Refreshments and popcorn will also be served.

Also, capture the magic with Santa himself outside the Beaufort Candy Shoppe on select dates. Share your wishes and spread joy with Santa on November 30th (1-5pm), December 6th (6-8pm), December 7th (1-5pm), and December 21st (noon-4pm).

Christmas in the South is amazing, and so is all of the fun at Beaufort’s Holiday Weekend.

Find more Holiday fun in Beaufort SC

On Saturday, December 14th at Noon, Wreaths Across America will be at Beaufort National Cemetery to Remember and Honor our veterans through the laying of Remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country’s fallen heroes and through the act of saying the name of each and every veteran aloud.

Volunteers are needed for the afternoon, and everyone is invited to the ceremony and also to help place the wreaths on as many graves as possible.

More than 26,000 wreaths will be needed to mark the graves of those veterans and family members interred in the cemetery. Beaufort National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 26,000 military members and their spouses. Those interred represent every conflict from the Civil War to current combat casualties.

The mission of the National Wreaths Across America program is to remember our fallen heroes, honor them, and teach others of the sacrifices they have made for our Country. Started at Arlington National Cemetery in 1992, each year during the holiday season, wreaths are placed on veterans’ grave sites at more than 1,400 locations across the United States, at sea and around the world.

The Beaufort National Cemetery joined the national Wreaths Across America celebration about 18 years ago and has been participating in the Wreaths Across America ceremony ever since.

Over 26,000 wreaths were laid at Beaufort National Cemetery at last year’s Wreaths Across America Day. Before last year, 2019 saw more than 21,000, which had been the most to date.

Numbers are falling behind this year, and every headstone is deserving of a remembrance wreath.

Play your part and honor a veteran

You can honor our veterans by sponsoring wreaths.

Individuals or groups that wish to purchase one or more wreaths for the Wreaths Across America Beaufort event can do so by visiting this link. For updates on this year’s ceremony in Beaufort and to learn more about the organization, please visit Wreaths Across America Beaufort’s website.

Each wreath is hand-crafted of all-American balsam and hand-tied with a red velvet bow in Columbia Falls, Maine. It will then be sent to one of the participating locations where a volunteer will place it on the marker of a fallen hero. That volunteer will then “say their name” to ensure that the legacy of duty, service and sacrifice of that veteran is never forgotten.

Sponsoring a wreath means you’ll honor an American hero this year on Wreaths Across America Day.

That’s really special.

Welcome to Two Days Away, our series featuring weekend-long itineraries within a five-hour drive of your city—because sometimes we all just need a little adventure fix.

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Like a great book that you just can’t put down, some small towns are filled with so much personality that their stories jump off the page. And there’s perhaps no town where local lore and larger-than-life characters are begging to be told than Beaufort, South Carolina.

Once upon a time, Beaufort was the home of a former slave turned American war hero and politician Robert Smalls, who became the first Black captain of a Union war vessel during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman also lived in Beaufort and led the Combahee River Raid, a military operation that saw hundreds of enslaved people rescued. Add in that it’s the birthplace of legendary boxer Joe Frazier and home to Pat Conroy, the beloved author of literary masterpieces The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini. And to top it all off, Beaufort has also made its silver screen debut in films from Forrest Gump to The Big Chill.

Sandwiched between Savannah and Charleston in the South, Beaufort is the second oldest city in South Carolina and its rich history makes that abundantly clear. Officially founded in 1711, it has retained so much of its original character and charm that it’s since earned the nickname “Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands.” It’s a small town with a lot of stories to tell, and from the moment you set foot here, you know you’ve landed someplace special. Soak it all in with these fun things to do in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Travel time

45 minutes from Savannah, Georgia1 hour and 20 minutes from Charleston, South Carolina4 hours and 30 minutes from Atlanta, Georgia

If you only do one thing: Take a self-guided walking tour through history

Head downtown and waste an afternoon wandering past the stately manor homes lining Bay Street. Be sure to stop into some of the local art galleries, restaurants, and shops and get your soda and ice cream fix at Southern Sweets Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop before you mosey on over to one of the swing benches in Waterfront Park. Keep your eyes peeled for dolphins and enjoy the view of the Woods Memorial Bridge, which you might recognize from the penultimate running scene in Forrest Gump. If you want to dig into the local history, there are a few tour operators to choose from, including an excellent Historic Golf Cart Tour and Pat Conroy’s Beaufort By Gold Cart Tour. Conheads should head to the Pat Conroy Literary Center downtown, which hosts writers and events and serves as a touching tribute to Beaufort’s very own literary legend.

Fill the weekend with

One of the best ways to experience Beaufort is by the water, and from a pet-friendly river excursion (for well-behaved dogs) to renting a kayak and exploring the local creeks and lowlying marshes, there’s no shortage of ways to experience the Lowcountry.

Meanwhile on land, the Spanish Moss Trail is a 10-mile pedestrian greenway set along the old train tracks that’s easily one of the best pet-friendly walking trails in town. South Carolina’s most popular state park, Hunting Island State Beach offers five miles of white sand, a historic lighthouse, and plenty of opportunity to hunt for shark teeth that have a tendency to wash ashore here. Best of all, the beach and campgrounds here are pet-friendly. Make your way to South Beach, otherwise known as “the boneyard” where you’ll find fewer people and plenty of pine trees and tide pools for you and your pet to frolic in. On your way to or from this beguiling beach, Beedos Burgers serves the best fried chicken sandos and soft serve, along with an outdoor patio to park you and your pups as you eat.

Beaufort may not have a traditional movie theater, but Highway 21 Drive In is not only pet-friendly but a trip down memory lane that is well worth a visit when you’re in town. Over in Port Royal, Shellring is Beaufort’s go-to pet-friendly brewery. In addition to the rotating menu of delicious food via their on-site food truck and always changing array of craft beer, it has some killer views and a lineup of live music and entertainment that ranges from trivia nights and goat yoga.

Where to eat and drink in Beaufort

For your caffeine fix: Herban Market offers freshly baked pastries, excellent vegan options, and an out-of-this-world avocado brownie, all of which you can enjoy on this spot’s pet-friendly patio. Lowcountry Cider Co. & Superior Coffee, which recently added a location downtown, is a great spot to grab a coffee and pick up some cute Southern souvenirs.

For lowcountry fare: For a small town, Beaufort has a number of seriously great eats you can only find here. You can’t miss the green fried tomatoes at Lowcountry Produce. For some tried and true southern fare, Panini's on the Waterfront offers river deck tables and a dedicated doggie menu, plus great po boys and shrimp and grits for the humans. Over on Lady’s Island, Locals Raw Bar is an excellent spot serving up the freshest seafood in town. If you’re around on the first Sunday of the month, don’t want to miss this spot’s lowcountry boil.

For imbibing: Come dinnertime, Old Bull Tavern is beloved by Beaufortonians (this local writer included). But beyond the solid menu and stellar vibes, it’s also known for serving up the best painkiller in all the land. Grab a spot on the patio on cooler nights and don’t leave without ordering the butterscotch pudding for dessert. If you’re looking for some live music and a solid dive, you’ll find it at The Fillin’ Station. Post up with a bucket of beer on the back porch overlooking the marsh and enjoy the views.

Where to stay

For a charming room: A historic mansion in downtown Beaufort, Cuthbert House is a swoon-worthy 18th-century mansion dripping in Lowcountry charm at every turn. Inside this bayside beauty, you’ll find spacious pet-friendly suites and guest rooms, along with one of Beaufort’s most convivial spots to sip sweet tea and enjoy complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres. On breezy nights, do as the locals do, enjoy a glass of wine or whiskey on the porch, and watch the swaying moss and boats in the bay pass you by.

To find luxury for pets and people: Set along the May River as the crow flies from Beaufort, Montage Palmetto Bluff is spread across 20,000 acres and offers a mix of pet-friendly inn rooms, cottages, guest houses, and suites. The hotel is also home to a Canine Ambassador program, most recently including Finch the Golden Retriever and Bodie the Miniature Sheepadoodle, both of whom can be found roaming this expansive property. Best of all, furry members of the family are treated to custom-baked treats and a pet cuisine menu that includes homemade biscuits and fresh beef, rice, and vegetables when they come to stay.

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Michelle Gross is a travel writer and Beaufort, South Carolina resident by way of New York City. You can read all about her southern escapades in her monthly newsletter The Beau Yorker.