Commercial real estate brokers in Bluffton, SC

Have you ever had nitrogen ice cream?

Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream is set to open its first South Carolina location later this year in Bluffton.

The made-to-order nitrogen ice cream shop will be opening its new establishment at 65 Towne Drive, Unit 65 in Belfair Towne Village II in Bluffton.

The current estimated opening date will be this fall.

The new locale will be owned and operated by Derek Cohen, the new franchisee and retiring Marine Corps veteran, who recently purchased the rights to develop new Chill-N locations in the Hilton Head area and Savannah, Georgia markets, according to recent release by Chill-N.

Cohen’s immediate plans are to open one location in each market for a total of two.

“As I was looking for an ice cream brand that could service the more than two million visitors that the Hilton Head area receives each year, I was immediately blown away by Chill-N and its level of technology. I believe that Chill-N is leading the way in which all ice cream shops will eventually operate, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of a brand that is pioneering the future of one our country’s most beloved sweet treats,” said Cohen.

“I’m looking forward to introducing Chill-N to the Bluffton community and growing my portfolio even further in the years to come.”

The new Bluffton Chill-N location will feature the brand’s newest prototype, which includes a new nitrogen system that has allowed the brand to reduce its investment to open a store by 20%, increased production efficiency, and enhanced the customer experience, according to the release.

Cohen will reportedly hire approximately 15 new employees for his first Chill-N shop in Bluffton and has plans to open a second shop in Savannah in the future.

How does Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream work?

Customers will have the ability to choose a portion size, ice cream base and then a flavor. Ice cream bases include milk, yogurt, or alternative milk option such as coconut, almond or oat.

Next, guests may choose to add on premium toppings including candies, cookies, cereal, fresh fruit, sauces, nuts, and Cuban coffee.

Each scoop of ice cream is hand-crafted to order, and flash frozen instantly using liquid nitrogen at -320° Fahrenheit.

The new Bluffton Chill-N locale will be open within the next several months and will operate Monday through Sunday.

This treasure of a town is full of restaurants and river adventures.

Claiming the moniker “Heart of the Lowcountry,” Bluffton is a small town chock-full of character, history, and hospitality. Whether you're visiting for a day or a weekend, you'll find plenty to do. Here are some of our top picks.

What To Do In Bluffton

When you arrive in town, make a stop at the Cole-Heyward House, which is the official Welcome Center. The Heyward House Museum and Welcome Center is owned and operated by the Historic Bluffton Foundation, a nonprofit that is dedicated to the preservation of the culture and history of the town. You can tour the House Museum, which was built in 1841 by enslaved people. It is one of only eight antebellum homes that remain in the Lowcountry.

Three blocks from the Welcome Center, admire the 1857 Anglican church, The Church of the Cross. Federal troops burned Bluffton during the Civil War, but spared this building.

Walk along Calhoun Street, the center of the town's arts and cultural district, which is filled with eclectic galleries and specialty shops. The Society of Bluffton Artists (SOBA), showcases more than 100 local artists, and offers workshops and exhibits. Next door is Bluffton General Store, where you can purchase unique gifts and coastal collectibles.

Afternoon is the ideal time to get out on the water with a guided adventure with May River Excursions. Be on the lookout for Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, or set sail at dusk underneath the cotton candy pink South Carolina sunset.

Where To Stay

Staying in Old Town gives you easy access to explore the area by foot. The first and only boutique hotel in the neighborhood is Old Town Bluffton Inn. Owned by husband-and-wife team Vince and Danielle Harrison, the elegantly designed hotel has 14 rooms, custom-made furnishings and original art, plus a lovely pale pink parlor and breezy front porch.

If you're looking for a stay with lots of on-site activities and amenities, the luxury resort Montage Palmetto Bluff consumes 20,000-acres along the May River. From pro shops to a Paris market, paddle boarding to golfing, Montage crafts luxury experiences specific to each guest. For a romantic outdoor adventure, try the "Veuve Clicquot Picnic + Pedal," which includes bike rentals, your choice of five picnic basket menus (the "Day Date" includes canapés, tea sandwiches, and a variety of sweets to please every palate), plus a bottle of bubbly, of course.

Where To Eat And Drink

Fuel up for a day of fun at The Cottage Café where chef Leslie Rohland dishes out Southern cuisine with a twist. Begin with a mimosa (there are three types to choose from), then tuck into a Crabby Southerner—a fried green tomato, crab cake, and poached egg perched on an English muffin.

Another option is Corner Perk Brunch Café and Coffee Roasters where the hot coffee is freshly roasted and the Huevos Rancheros are nice and spicy. Order a Tiramisu Whipped Cold Brew to go as you stroll through Old Town.

No visit to Bluffton is complete without a visit to Bluffton Oyster Company. Since 1899, the family-owned business has been harvesting fresh Bluffton oysters, the star of the May River from September through May. Take home an order of oysters, shrimp, blue crab, or fresh fish, or devour the fresh catch at the family’s Bluffton Oyster Company Seafood Restaurant. Seafood doesn't get any fresher than this.

FARM serves dinner with an ever-changing menu celebrating the fishers, farmers, and other local producers behind its food. Sample roasted oysters with horseradish souffle, chives, and saltines; grilled snapper with butterbeans; or pickled shrimp. Whatever you choose, don't miss the brown butter cornbread. Although the menu has global influences, chef Brandon Carter says the region inspires his cooking. “It’s the way the salt air smells. It’s the oyster beds that you can see from the banks of the May River," he says. "There’s a real sense of place and community here that you don’t find very often these days.”

Likewise, the Waterson brothers at Burnt Church Distillery craft spirits to honor South Carolina’s history. Every bottle has a story, like the Sin Eater Cinnamon Smoky Whiskey. Dating back to the 1600s, Sin Eaters were social outcasts who took sins of others upon themselves.

Chefs and Lowcountry farmers come together to make one great dining experience at Nectar Farm Kitchen in Old Town. The fried bologna sandwich will take you back to your childhood, and the butter bean burger is like nothing you've ever tasted. The restaurant has a complete cocktail and wine list, and Nectar Brewing Company, a craft brewery located in the kitchen.

If you haven’t caught Bernard Bennett’s food truck, Ọkàn, in Savannah or Bluffton, South Carolina, then you may not be familiar with the chef, but when he was named a 2023 James Beard Emerging Chef semifinalist, his name and his West African cuisine went to the top of many diners’ “must-try” lists. Now, in April, Bennett will open his first restaurant with the same name as the truck, Ọkàn, in Bluffton’s mixed-use development the Bridge Collective (71 Calhoun Street).

Ọkàn will focus on the foods and flavors that came to the Lowcountry through enslaved Africans forced into the fields and kitchens along the South Carolina coast. “I would describe the food at Ọkàn as a journey,” says Bennett, “I think that what is known as African American cuisine, like the stereotypical fried chicken, grits, and collard greens, is not representative of us. It’s in our history, but our history is much more than that. The expressions on my dishes go back to West Africa, where many enslaved people came from, and take a trip through the Caribbean and onto America.”

A sample menu from Ọkàn begins with starters like corn pudding with blue crab, okra roasted in harissa, and pumpkin seed dip with benne seed crackers. The bread selections contain Trinidadian bara with chutney, coco bread, roti, and cornbread with seasonal butter. There’s an entire section dedicated to rice, a crop that many enslaved Africans were forced to cultivate when they came to the Lowcountry; there’s jollof rice, coconut rice, Haitian djon djon rice, Sea Island peas and rice, and Carolina Gold rice. Entrees range from curried oxtails to peanut stew to duck and oyster gumbo.

Bennett says the bar will focus on classic cocktails with an emphasis on rum, which comes from the Caribbean influences on his menu. He wants the Ọkàn experience to be upscale but approachable — no stuffy white tablecloths here.

There’s not another establishment like Ọkàn in the Lowcountry (though there is a West African restaurant planned for Charleston in the spring), so Bennett hopes that visitors will seek him out in Bluffton. With the multitude of tourists from nearby Savannah, Hilton Head, and Charleston, he thinks it has the potential to become a destination restaurant.

“Ọkàn means ‘heart and soul’ in the Yoruba language, one of the first languages in West Africa,” says Bennett, “And being the heart and soul, I want to tell people that everything we do and all the food we present has love in it. We’re not doing anything to stir up any drama. I want to celebrate the heart and soul of the underrepresented people and their cuisines. I want West African and Caribbean cuisine to be recognized just as much as French and Italian. That’s my goal.”

The South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative (SCNRI), an initiative launched in 2021 to provide financial aid to attract and retain recent BSN and ADN nursing school graduates to continue to work in Beaufort and Jasper counties, will hold a community celebration on March 26 to honor local nurses and the success of the SCNRI.

The 3-6 p.m. celebration will be at the Belfair Clubhouse in the Belfair Golf community in Bluffton. It will be open to the public. Organizers say it was created to thank "all those who have supported the work of the SCNRI in incentivizing the Lowcountry’s graduating nurses to first choose and then remain employed in our area, helping to increase the supply of nurses to improve the availability and quality of health care in the Lowcountry.''

The event, Friends Of Retaining Our Nurses (FOR Our Nurses), will feature hors d’oeuvres, beverages and the Evolution Big Band, Bluffton’s hometown All-Star Big Band featuring 17 Lowcountry jazz musicians. Also performing will be Stephanie Nakasian.

“We are so grateful to everyone in the community for their support of this initiative to retain nurses in Beaufort and Jasper counties,” said Bob Elliott, co-founder of the South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative. “We hope that the community will come out and join us to not only enjoy a spectacular afternoon of music and entertainment, but to honor our local nurses who truly are both the heart, and the backbone, of our health-care system here in the Lowcountry.”

Since its founding, the SCNRI said, it has achieved a 75% nurse retention rate in Beaufort/Jasper counties, and has provided financial aid to 11 nurses who are now working in primary-care settings.

According to the organization, ''Each nurse will serve 8,000 patients per year – making the impact of these 11 nurses now working in Beaufort and Jasper counties a critical addition to our health care system. With a goal of adding 20 nurses per year, it is expected that the SCNRI will continue to have an even greater impact on the community in 2023 and beyond."

For more information or to purchase tickets for the event, as well as for information about sponsorship opportunities, visit https://scnri.eventbrite.com/.

Old Town, a down-home upscale neighborhood in the South Carolina river town of Bluffton, is defined by its Southern hospitality and luxurious lifestyle.

“It’s the heartbeat of Beaufort County and what draws many people to the area,” said Dave Jarman, a broker with Corcoran HM Properties. “‘Charming’ is the first word that comes to mind. ‘Welcoming’ is a close second.”

He added that Old Town is so darn friendly that “it’s common for strangers to say ‘hello’ or ‘how are ya’ll doing?’ as they pass by.”

The atmosphere, according to Mary Vaux Bell, an agent with Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty, is “relaxed, chic and very down to earth.”

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Boundaries

Old Town, which may be accessed via car or boat, is bounded by Bridge Street and the May River waterway on the south, Burnt Church Road on the east, May River Road on the north and Verdier Cove Road on the west.

Price Range

Noting that properties in Old Town don’t come on the market very often, Ms. Vaux Bell said that riverfront or marsh-front single-family houses, which typically are on 0.75 of an acre to 2 acres, generally run $1.5 million to $2.5 million.

The inner streets of the community, whose houses are set on a quarter to a half acre, are also desirable places to live, she said, adding that they typically sell for around $1 million.

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Housing Stock

The houses in Old Town, which is in a National Register Historic District and a Preserve America Community, were originally built and used as summer residences and typically feature significant porch space as well as interior space. They date from the 1800s to the present, and generally are on lots starting at one-tenth of an acre.

The architectural styles and materials, which range from clapboard siding and brick to tabby, vary.

“While there are new homes, many of the older ones have been updated or restored for a relaxed and understated yet posh coastal-cottage aesthetic,” Ms. Vaux Bell said. “The homes in the inner streets are mostly new but custom designed to blend in with the Spanish moss, mature oaks and oyster-shell driveways.”