The owners of Liberty Taproom & Grill are bringing a popular Charleston restaurant - Pearlz Oyster Bar - to the Vista.
The Tbonz company, which operates Liberty, has two Pearlz locations in Charleston, one on East Bay Street and another in the Avondale neighborhood of West Ashley.
"Our downtown (Charleston) restaurant has a really nice business, so coming to the Vista ... is a really easy transition for us," said Paul Manley, Tbonz chief operating officer.
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Last year, Southern Living magazine complimented the restaurant on its food and called the East Bay Street location "a happy hour go-to."
Although Pearlz is known as an oyster bar, it also will be a full-service seafood restaurant and will offer Tbonz signature steaks and traditional American fare.
Manley said the owners are shooting for a March opening.
The Vista Pearlz will occupy the 1880s-era building at Gervais and Park streets - a location that once housed Vista Brewing Company and other establishments through the years.
The Tbonz group has owned the building for about five years. The restaurant will be located on the ground floor while the second floor will be used as a banquet hall.
Columbia's Design Development Review Commission this week approved renovations to the historic structure that allow for an accordion-style, folding front wall that will open up the restaurant to Gervais Street in nice weather.
"We wanted to have outdoor urban dining," Manley said.
Tbonz operates 16 restaurants in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. They include Tbonz Gill & Grill and Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse in addition to the Pearlz and Liberty brands.
Fred Delk, executive director of the Columbia Development Corp., which encourages and guides investment in the Vista, said Pearlz will be a good addition to the Vista's dining scene.
Delk said that even though the group operates a regional chain, it tailors each restaurant to the location.
The Vista Pearlz "will be completely unique to Columbia," Delk said.
Delk predicted that the high-profile location at Gervais and Park will help the restaurant be successful.
"And you just have to look at Liberty to see the kind of quality they turn out," he said.
One hitch is that Pearlz will be the second oyster bar on that stretch of Park Street. It is just a half block from The Oyster Bar Columbia, a locally owned establishment that opened in 2001.
"There is a market here for both," Delk said. "The Oyster Bar is an old style, sit-at-the-counter oyster bar. Pearlz is more like a full-service restaurant. They have totally different characters."
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