Pull up a rocker, and set a spell. We have a few locals you should meet

STORY BY BARRY KAUFMAN + PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA STAFF

There’s a reason why the words “Southern” and “comfort” just seem to belong together. It’s not because of the famed spirit brand, and it’s not because of the iambic poetry of their rhythm or the linguistic string of sibilants and fricatives in their sounds that simply roll off the tongue. Although they do simply sound right together, all science aside.

No, the reason those two words belong together is because each defines the other. The South is a land of comforts, from the gentility of its warm breezes to the succor of sweet tea when those breezes fade. This is a place that invites you to take a load off, visit a while, and maybe hear a few stories while your host offers something from the kitchen.

And as far as defining comfort, well, is there any kind of comfort like Southern comfort? We certainly don’t think so, and we imagine these locals would be inclined to agree.

Bess Soper

Carrying forward a Southern tradition of comfort, one plate at a time

Without the South, the notion of comfort food simply would not exist. This region was the cradle for culinary comforts like mac and cheese, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, peach cobbler and fried green tomatoes, dishes that created a rich tradition of meals that feel like a warm hug.

Since 1982 Bess Soper has been carrying forward that legacy of crafting delicious food that feels like a visit from an old friend. From the outside, Bess’ Delicatessen and Catering is easy to miss, despite its perch on a bend in New Orleans Road. But step beyond its unassuming storefront into a space decorated like your favorite aunt’s dining room, and you’ll understand how pure comfort and hospitality can feel.

“I have so many customers who come in for lunch so often, if they don’t show up for four or five days I’ll call them to check in,” said Soper. “It’s a great relationship.”

Soper took something of a roundabout path to become a culinary institution on Hilton Head. Working as a kindergarten teacher in Bluffton after first moving here with her husband, Mike, she was asked to help prep an event by the school nurse, who catered on the side.

“I did a few of those, and then people started calling me at home. I began doing events on my own, then opened this spot in Fountain Center,” she said. The shop doesn’t just feed the regular lunch crowd; it is also the nerve center for a busy catering operation that runs on pure hospitality. Within just a few years of opening, Bess’ was feeding 400 people at a corporate polo event for Nabisco. “That was probably the biggest challenge I’ve taken on, but everything went beautifully,” she said.

Since then, she has brought her signature Southern fare to events from 200-seat weddings to private parties during Heritage. And each event gets the same warm, friendly treatment.

“I’ve had the same staff for years, and there are certain things I’ll do to put a more personalized touch on an event than some of the big companies, so when we go into a house, we get hugs, and everyone knows us. We’ve become very close to clients,” she said. “We don’t take on more than we can handle because it’s not fair to the client, and it’s not fair to the staff. We want every party to be the best.”

What’s on the menu at Bess’?

Ask any restaurateur, and they’ll tell you that regulars are creatures of habit. They come in on the same day, often at the same time, each week. They sit in the same seat. And, above all, they always order the same thing.

It’s no different at Bess’ Delicatessen and Catering. For some, it’s the sweet-and-savory one-two punch of the Soap’s Delight, with cranberry mayo and turkey breast making each bite feel like Thanksgiving. For others, it’s the famous Reuben, a symphony of flavor and texture that could go toe-to-toe with any sandwich shop in Manhattan.

But for the true connoisseur, the pinnacle of flavor can only be found in the indelible epicurean experience that is the Cloudy Special.

“It’s the caramelized onions,” said Bess Soper, creator of the legendary sandwich and owner of Bess’, when asked what sets it apart. “You add that to the horseradish, provolone and the London broil, and that’s it. I use Boar’s Head London broil, which is a little more expensive than regular roast beef, but it’s worth it.”

At the risk of editorializing, it is less a sandwich and more akin to launching yourself headfirst into a sensory overload of perfectly balanced flavor. But of course, it’s not the only thing on the menu.

Kathryn Wall

Drawing inspiration from the rhythms, language and mysteries of the South

Few places nurture a storyteller’s soul like the South. From Faulkner to Cormac McCarthy, some of the finest yarns ever spun started in the soil of the South, a reflection of the region’s unique language, rhythm and spirit.

Kathryn Wall, despite emerging over the last few decades as one of the Lowcountry’s most celebrated authors, is not Southern by birth. Nor did she, as the saying goes, get here as soon as she could. But it was a story that drew her here.

“It was completely serendipitous. My late husband, Norman, and I had taken a long weekend at a resort in Ohio, and someone had left that Friday’s Wall Street Journal by the pool. Norman was reading through it when he asked me, ‘Have you ever heard of Hilton Head Island? That would be a great place for a vacation,’” she recalled. “He ended up flying down and buying a condo.”

That was 1984, and that chance encounter with a newspaper story began Kathryn Wall’s next chapter in the South. Moving here permanently 10 years later, she arrived just as development was beginning to pick up and there were still quietly unexplored corners of the Lowcountry.

“We’d just get in the car and get lost trying to explore. Even something as simple as Marshland Road, you’d go down there and suddenly it dead-ended in a forest,” she said. “A lot of things that seem normal now were all new and fascinating to me. I wanted to write about here because I was a newcomer.”

The thing was, Kathryn Wall was not yet a writer. For 25 years her career had taken her as far from the life of an author as possible, crunching numbers and scrolling spreadsheets as an accountant. But this new life in Hilton Head offered the promise of a fresh start, and she took a chance on a fiction contest in the now-defunct Hilton Head Monthly magazine.

“It was one of those things I’d always wanted to do, but no one was encouraging girls to become writers when I was leaving high school,” she said. “When I won the contest, their publisher told me I ought to pursue this. Her encouragement was the first time that someone actually in the print business urged me to pursue my writing, and it gave me the courage keep at it.” 

On a side note, that publisher, Lori Goodridge-Cribb, went on to publish the magazine you now hold in your hands. And that win kick-started a successful run of 13 novels in the Bay Tanner mystery series. All based in the Lowcountry and inspired by her travels along its backroads, it’s possibly one of the best Southern series a Yankee ever wrote.

“I was aware that I might not get some things right, so that’s why I had (Bay Tanner) attend college in Chicago,” Wall said with a laugh. Her secret was simply to observe the world around her, immersing herself in Southern euphemisms and language. “I used to say to people, ‘Be careful what you say in front of me in line at Publix. It might end up in a book.’”

A Southern education

When Kathryn Wall began work on the Bay Tanner mysteries, she knew that authenticity would be key to capturing the Lowcountry setting. Having moved here from Ohio, building that authenticity meant learning Southern as a second language.

“I just loved how people talked here. And some things always struck me as funny, like how people went by both their first and middle names,” she said. “On Hilton Head, there are a lot of people here who are transplants like me, so when I met someone who was genuinely Southern, I took advantage.”

Carefully studying the language of the Lowcountry helped put flesh on the bones of Bay Tanner, resulting in a fully realized character who felt as local as oyster roasts and boat days. It wasn’t just the sense of place Wall brought to her books, crafted through extensive travels across the region. It was the way the South can turn a phrase that brought them to life.

“My brother lived in the Upstate near Greenwood, and whenever I’d meet people up there, they’d ask, ‘Who are your people?’” she said. “Northerners ask what you do. Southerners ask who your people are.”

Bay Tanner Mysteries 

Set against the sultry backdrop of the Lowcountry, the Bay Tanner Mysteries series by Kathryn R. Wall follow a sharp-witted financial consultant drawn into a world of secrets, scandals and murder.

• In for a Penny (2000)
• And Not a Penny More (2002)
• Perdition House (2003)
• Judas Island (2004)
• Resurrection Road (2005)
• Bishop’s Reach (2006)
• Sanctuary Hill (2007)
• The Mercy Oak (2008)
• Covenant Hall (2009)
• Canaan’s Gate (2010)
• Jericho Cay (2011)
• St. John’s Folly (2013)
• Jordan Point (2015)

Todd Ernst

Creating a sensory experience where aroma, flavor and curiosity collide

Comfort isn’t always just a tactile experience. Sure, the perfectly cushioned support of your favorite chair, the soft embrace of a loved one and the soothing pulse of a massage all go a long way toward creating an easy sense of comfort.

But sometimes comfort is an experience savored by every sense. The soothing florals of a warm cup of tea. The savory spice of a home-cooked meal. These are comforts we enjoy nose-first before savoring their flavor. If you want a sneak peek of what that could feel like, just walk by Coligny’s The Spice & Tea Exchange when the wind is right.

“It can be sensory overload for some people,” said Todd Ernst of the complex, enticing aroma constantly emanating from his store. “People will say they can smell it from around the corner, especially if we have the door open and there’s a good breeze.”

Todd and Sarah Ernst purchased the Coligny store two years ago after moving down from North Carolina, encouraged by Sarah’s father, Bob Long, who has owned locations for the last 16 years.

“He’s been mentoring us along because this was a new experience for both of us, and it has been great,” said Todd. “There was a lot to learn, and we’re still learning.”

The tallest order was following the precise recipes that The Spice & Tea Exchange uses for all of its products, whether it’s a loose-leaf tea, a spice blend or a complete recipe kit. Crafted on-site from ingredients stacked high in the back room, each one is a carefully balanced mix of herbs and spices. If you show up at the right time, you can even watch the entire process at the blending counter toward the back.

“We have to keep everything consistent and as fresh as possible, so we don’t make it until we need it,” said Todd. “There’s constant turnover, so nothing has a chance to sit on the shelf too long.”

Having mastered the company’s often complex recipes, Todd and Sarah have also expanded what the store can be with a full tea bar in the back. Pulling from the blends that made the store famous, the bar lets you walk out with a hot or cold cup of your favorite, whether it’s a lavender and juniper mix, an herbal tea, an oat milk latte or a matcha.

“I love working the tea bar. I feel like Tom Cruise in Cocktail,” said Todd. “When the company first started, this wasn’t a thing, but it’s been a great addition to the establishment.”

The tea bar lets you take comfort to go while picking up something for a relaxed moment later. All you have to do is follow your nose.

A warm cup of comfort

Todd and Sarah Ernst might know tea better than anyone else on the island. As the owners of The Spice & Tea Exchange in Coligny, they stock a wide range of teas, each with a carefully curated flavor profile born from a precise mix of ingredients. So you can imagine neither of them has a simple “go-to” tea.

“If I want a hot tea, I’ll usually go for the ginger turmeric, which is good for digestion and a natural anti-inflammatory,” said Todd. “But during warmer weather, I can’t drink hot tea, so I’ll go for the Pineapple Paradise, which is a green tea with a little pineapple simple syrup.”

Sarah’s go-to is more of a moving target. “Currently, I’m loving Mystic Dragon, which is a blend of Japanese sencha and Chinese dragonwell green tea,” she said.

Ultimately, they both agree that the most comforting tea is the one you’re drinking.

“When you think of tea, you just get that picture in your mind of sitting by a fire, drinking a cup of hot tea,” said Todd.