Whiskey Kitchen restaurant opens in Columbia with a New Year’s Eve event

A new restaurant in the newly renovated Delta Marriott Hotel at 8105 Two Notch Road opened Monday and will hold its grand opening ceremony on Dec. 31 with a New Year’s Eve celebration.

The restaurant’s menu will include options like Mrs. Cassie Mae’s collards, frogmore stew, bourbon peach glazed bone-in grilled pork chops, pimento cheese stuffed okra and more “country cuisine.” Each table will have six different signature sauces to try that are also available for purchase.

“Everything is very like from the heart. I grew up in a small town and just grew up eating that country food,” said Jason Jacobs, a co-owner from Norway, S.C.

Much of the menu is family recipes from Jacobs’ mother, Cindy, and grandmother Foye Covington, after whom some of the dishes are named.

Whiskey Kitchen is described as a gourmet Southern restaurant and is owned by Justin Kershner and Jacobs, who said the restaurant endeavor was a spontaneous decision. As far as the timing goes with opening a restaurant after Christmas and during the pandemic, Kershner said it may not be the “smartest decision,” but they are confident in the food and their connections in Columbia.

Jacobs managed Market on Main before getting an offer to open his own restaurant from the owner of the Two Notch Delta Marriott. The hotel recently underwent a renovation to become more modern and the restaurant matches the aesthetic with big windows and a geometric-tiled bar.

Whiskey Kitchen serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will begin serving brunch soon, according to the restaurant’s website.

Kershner said the restaurant will feature customer comment cards after opening to help gauge what menu items will continue to be served and other suggestions for the eatery.

The restaurant includes a spacious lounge area behind the main dining room, an outdoor patio with a retractable roof, an indoor fireplace and ballrooms to eventually be used for event space.

The grand opening event includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, half off house liquor and shots, a DJ and heavily discounted hotel rooms. You can purchase tickets for the New Year’s Eve event at whiskeykitchensc.com for $75 per person or $125 per couple.

Jacobs said that the event will be “safe” and will adhere to CDC COVID-19 guidelines for mask wearing.