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Meet the owner of Summerville’s only French-inspired restaurant

July 20, 2023

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Jason Tucker reports that business is booming at the boîte known as La Cuisine du Chevalier, or La Chev, by the locals. The 40-seat restaurant, which translates to “the knight’s kitchen,” garnered rave reviews by online contributors when it opened in November at the former soup restaurant called Ladles in the Shoppes of Summerville.

It only recently held a grand opening celebration.

Tucker, who has lived in Summerville for the past 16 years, is no stranger to the restaurant business.

“My background is extremely diverse and it started back when I was 15-years’ old scooping ice cream in Central Pennsylvania,” he said.

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Over the years, Tucker has worked in numerous restaurants, from chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel and the Hilton, to groups like Charleston Hospitality and more. After bartending his way through college in Virginia, the hard-working transplant accepted a management position from his employer, which took him to Summerville, where he has been ever since.

The father of two boys is also the operating partner at Wine & Tapas in Summerville and was buoyed by the popularity of the business. This inspired him to open a new restaurant, this time with a French flair.

“They call the area the French Quarter, but it lacked a French-themed restaurant, which never made sense to me, especially with the growth we are seeing in this area,” he said.

Tucker said that La Chev was designed to evoke the feeling of walking down the Champs-Élysées.

“It’s a cute café that’s quaint and all about the food and wine,” he said.

It doesn’t hurt that Tucker worked in the wine distribution business and is well-versed on what’s exceptional. He said that his goal is to bring people in by rivaling the quality that a customer would get in downtown Charleston.

“It’s all about the ingredients and there’s a lot of precision and thought that goes into each of our dishes,” he said, adding that chef de cuisine Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville, is Johnson and Wales-trained.

When it comes to dishes, Tucker said that the most popular lunch items that they serve are the French Dip and the shrimp and grits.

“A lot of people judge the quality of the restaurant by their shrimp and grits,” he said.

As for dinner, Tucker offers quite a few specials, ranging from steak dishes, to surf and turf, scallops, crabcakes, and salmon.

“Everyone says that it’s the best salmon served in the Atlantic Coastal area,” Tucker said.

For now, La Chev is taking reservations, except for the bar and outside area, so last-minute plans to dine can be accommodated if guests don’t mind sitting in either area.

Tucker also recently announced that they will be open on Sundays for brunch.

“We’re currently working on the menu which we will implement sometime around the end of July,” he said.

Kurry Seymour was a Ladles customer who was wowed by his first visit.

“This place brings a refreshing vibe to the Knightsville area and I am impressed by the décor, which was converted into a very fine, but very cozy dining experience,” he said.

Reviews like this are music to Tucker’s ears.

“I never thought I’d be in a situation where I’d be running two separate restaurants, but I love the feeling one gets when someone is happy with an experience. Making moments special is the best feeling in the world and having the opportunity to have someone really love what you’re doing, well, it doesn’t get any better than that,” he said, with a smile.

Stefanie Kalina-Metzger is a contributing writer for SC Biz News.

A Grayco Hardware & Home and Parker’s Gas Station are coming to the Knightsville Crossing Shopping Center next year. After Mr. K’s Piggly Wiggly closed in 2017, the building that served as the centerpiece of the shopping center has sat vacant on the corner of Orangeburg and Central Avenue.

Kevin Rogers, a developer with Knightsville Enterprise LLC, purchased the retail site from Jim and John Kersting, owners of Mr. K’s Piggly Wiggly. According to county records, the property was purchased for $3.2 million. There are pre existing tenants that will remain in place including two restaurants, a nail salon, UPS store and H & R Block. Rogers said the addition of Grayco and Parker’s will help bring the shopping center back to life.

While both of the incoming companies have multiple stores, Rogers said each one has a family- owned feel.

“It’s a nice thing to see and be a part of,” Rogers said. “Nothing wrong with big national outfits but sometimes there’s a little bit of a difference that customers feel when you walk into a store that’s run by the owner.”

He was impressed with Grayco, which originates in Beaufort and has stores in Savannah and Hilton Head. And Parker’s has over 50 stations throughout Georgia and South Carolina that Rogers said are “well-run, attractive looking stores.”

Nathan Richardson, vice president of real estate and development for Parker’s, said in an email that the Parker’s at Knightsville Crossing will feature a brand-new store design, which is inspired by Lowcountry vernacular architecture. The store will have a parged brick facade, metal roof, bracketed louvers, window details and nearly 4,800 square feet of retail space.

“Summerville is a growing community, and we’d like to be in the path of growth,” Richardson said. “We hope to build 5 or 6 new stores in Summerville in the future.”

Madelyn Robinson, director of administration and economic development for Summerville, visited one of the Grayco Hardware & Home stores in Hilton Head. She said she was also impressed by Grayco and the store will fulfill a need for that type of retail in the Orangeburg Road and Central Avenue area. She said it’s great that the property will no longer be sitting vacant.

“I think both of those businesses coming into Summerville, they’re not represented in Charleston area,” Robinson said. “Their first foothold they’ve chosen is Summerville. That speaks highly of our community, instead of us being second choice, we’re first.”

Robinson said the area surrounding the Knightsville Crossing Shopping Center is growing and opportunities for commercial growth are strong.

In the coming months, the 10-acre shopping center will get spruced up with overall landscaping improvements, sign replacements, lighting upgrades and new sidewalks. Rogers said he expects Grayco to be open in the spring of 2019. Representatives from Parker’s said the gas station will be open for business in the summer of 2019.

There were smiles, cheers, high-fives and even a few tears as Knightsville Elementary bid farewell to its fifth-graders on May 26 -- the last day of school for Dorchester District Two.

Knightsville Elementary traditionally has its fifth-graders parade through the school in celebration of graduating from elementary school, but this year the school had a special twist on the tradition: they invited back 2017 high school and college graduates -- also Knightsville Elementary alumni -- to return to their old stomping grounds wish the fifth-graders good-luck as they set off for middle school.

Drew Massey, graduating senior at Summerville High, called it nostalgic.

"It's weird to come back 10 years later," she said.

Massey was one of approximately 25 returning graduates who participated in the walk. Summerville High graduates donned their signature green caps and gowns. A handful of Clemson University and University of South Carolina graduates also participated.

The returning students spoke to fifth-graders in their classrooms prior to the parade to offer words of encouragement and students also heard from college professors from Charleston Southern University and The Citadel.

Massey said she wanted to participate because it felt special.

"I saw a lot of them (students) crying," she said. "I think they thought it was special too."

The entire school lined the hallways, along with parents, faculty and staff, to watch all the graduates weave through the building. Younger students awarded the graduates with cheers and high fives along the way while the school played "Pomp and Circumstance" over the intercom.

Teachers wore little graduation caps as well and, if they still had them, they were invited to wear their old graduation robes.

Principal Claire Sieber referred to the returning graduates as the "continuance of the legacy of learning that started here at Knightsville."

"You have empowered our fifth-graders to rise on and continue their education. I'm looking forward to all that the future will hold," she said.

The idea to invite the former Knightsville Elementary students back was Assistant Principal Carey Hodge's idea. Hodge said she had seen a similar event in her former hometown.

Sieber and Hodge said they wanted to have a community connection with the fifth-grade parade this year. With the response they got, Sieber said she anticipates this will be a tradition going forward.

Hodge said their focus for the last couple of weeks has been words of encouragement. She said they have been working on coordinating the event for three months.

Hodge said she thinks the Knightsville Elementary students really enjoyed it.

"I'm seeing tears of...joy and miss -- they're going to miss us. I know it's very bittersweet for them," she said. "But it's always a great thing when kids don't want to leave."

"Above all we just want them to love, learn and lead," she said.

Driving from Moncks Corner to Knightsville Elementary every day is a long drive, but Melissa Odom says it is worth it.

Odom is in her third year teaching third grade at Knightsville, and her fourth year total teaching at the school, having spent the first year teaching second grade.

Odom started teaching in Anderson before moving to DD2, where she first taught at Eagle Nest Elementary for five years. This is her 14th year teaching.

Growing up, Odom worked with kids and could not picture herself doing anything other than teaching. She is from Mt. Pleasant originally, and graduated from Wando High School in 1998. At Wando she was a teacher cadet, and knew from there she wanted to teach.

Odom went on to Anderson University to study elementary education. After her time spent working in Anderson, Odom decided to move a little closer to home.

Odom said she loves being in the classroom.

“Year to year it’s a goal of mine to form a strong relationship and bond with my students, as well as watching them and helping them grow in preparation for their life and education,” she said.

Last school year Odom was a Teacher of the Month and was also a finalist for Teacher of the Year. In fact, she has been a finalist for Teacher of the Year at her previous schools as well.

This year Odom is teaching math, science and social studies. She teaches two classes with a combined total of 41 students.

Odom said she cannot think of any worst experience she has ever had teaching, but she finds the best thing about her profession is she learns more from her students every year; they teach her not just educational things, but things about life as well, she said.

Her favorite thing about Knightsville Elementary is how it is such a tight community; everybody is just a friendly face, she said.

“It’s just one big tight-knit community within our school – teachers or students, new faces or old faces,” she said.

Odom has been married to her husband Daniel for 10 years. They have a 4-year-old son named Hayden and another 2-year-old son named Jonathan. The family has two dogs: a 5-year-old lab named Gauge and 10-year-old cocker spaniel named Harley.

Odom said she is very close to her parents, who are still in Mt. Pleasant, and said that outside of school her family enjoys spending time together. She also likes being outside and doing things like going on a run, boating and going to the beach. One of her favorite pastimes is going crabbing.

Odom’s life goal is to try to live life to the fullest every day and be the best teacher for her students, colleague for her coworkers and mom, wife and daughter to her family.

“I just want to be the best I can be every day,” she said.