Carolina Cider Company: Halfway Between Charleston and Savannah
Carolina Cider Company is a quirky roadside stand, the perfect spot to stretch your legs when traveling between these two great Southern belles.
The drive between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, is just over two hours, mostly on a divided highway, U.S. Route 17. It’s an easy drive with little to see except miles and miles of trees and grasses.
Heading south, the Carolina Cider Company in Beaufort is one of the few interesting options for stopping midway between the two cities. Friends had told us about the “pie place” along the way but it turned out to be more than that. It’s really a gourmet grocery store.
The huge billboard on the side of the road that warned we were approaching the Carolina Cider Company for a “taste of the low country” didn’t overpromise. (Admittedly, we were confused at first because the sign on the door read Carolina Cherry Company but whatever…they were one and the same.)
The building exterior looks like an old-fashioned general store with some high-backed wooden rocking chairs outside and a retro feel reminiscent of road trips from the past.
Even the prices on the old Texaco gas pumps are frozen in time at 42 cents a gallon.
Carolina Cider Company: Grab and Go
Inside, you can grab a cup of coffee with one of the shop’s famous pies, either a tartlet (for one) or a regular-size pie to take home. When we stopped, the fresh homemade pies available for purchase that day included pecan, blueberry, peach, sweet potato, cherry and apple.
Another specialty is the peach and cherry ciders, all made with natural flavors and no sugar or preservatives. Having been in the area for several weeks, southern delicacies now seemed more familiar.
Some of the regional food specialties for sale at Carolina Cider include Benne wafers, hushpuppy batter mix, grits, fruit jams and jellies, barbecue sauces, pickled vegetables, Hoppin’ John, and Cajun deep-fried peanuts you can eat with the shells.
Low-Country Favorites
Everything is served up with a big dose of Southern hospitality. Both the sales clerk—and open jars with spoons beside them—encourage customers to sample the products.
Although all the foods were regional specialties of the low country, these types of products are akin to the small-batch food delicacies we have found in shops in New York, like Dean & DeLuca or Eataly.
Branding is everything, so some of the syrups at Carolina Cider were tagged as one of “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” and packages of nuts said they were favorites of NBC weatherman Al Roker.
One of the many \uvirtues of a road trip is that there are no TSA 3-3-1 rules. Because we could take bottles and liquids home with us, we were able to purchase pretty jars of peach and fig fruit preserves as gifts.
If you miss the turn-off
The Carolina Cider Company surely felt like a one-of-a-kind roadstand.
Until we realized, upon returning to Charleston, that a clone of the Carolina Cider Company was on the other side of the road just in case, someone missed it on the way going.
Of course, we loved our terrific day trip because there were so many things to do in Savannah, the oldest city in Georgia.
Guess we weren’t the only ones on the road from Charleston to Savannah
All photo credits: Jerome Levine
IF YOU GO
Carolina Cider Company, 81 Charleston Highway (Route 17), Yemassee, South Carolina
If Savannah is your final destination, here are some unique places to stay in Savannah GA.
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I love unique places, especially those that seem frozen in time! This definitely qualifies. Too funny there’s one on each side of the road! They don’t miss a sale that way.
I thought that was quite a punch line, too:-)
Totally, I didn’t see that coming! I would have wanted to go to the other side and see if it was exactly the same.
This unique place looks worth stopping at. I love the retro look of the exterior. I am not a cider fan, but that pie looks scrumptious. I also have never tried peach cider – I might like that.
I’m sure you would be suckered into buying something:-) We brought home a bottle of whole figs preserved in a liquid.
I grew up taking road trips around the U.S. with my parents and just loved being able to pull over on a whim. You’re so right about not having to worry about liquids and security on a car ride too!
Those were the days!
It’s been awhile, I love little roadside places like this and I really love Beaufort too!
What a great looking place. It made me think of the old Stuckey’s signs on I-95 going through the south. Carolina Cider Company looks like a great find.
I thought of Stuckey’s when I first saw this post! I was trying to remember if they were on both sides of an interchange?
Oh man, chow chow, hush puppies, cheese grits and pie, too? I’d need plenty of cider to wash it all down. Fortunately, this company seems to have this covered. 🙂
What a fun place! Better yet, it is perfectly positioned between two of our favorite cities.
Another great reason for a road trip. I think we’re due for another USA circle route this coming year!
Please never post a photo like that apple pie again. I just licked my computer screen and may have damaged it.
Seriously, looks like a great road trip. I live in South Carolina and planning to get to Savannah later this year, so I’ll definitely stop in.
Hope you’ll write about the place on the other side of the road:-)
I love stopping at a good roadside stand. I’ll keep the Carolina Cider Company in mind when I’m out that way. Here’s one I recently discovered in my own Northern California territory, http://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2015/02/highway-49-gold-rush-country-auburn_6.html
Irene, this sounds like a great “pit” stop (pun somewhat intended) on the road between Charleston and Savannah. We’re overdue for a road trip, so I need to file this place away somewhere I can retrieve it—-i.e. other than in the deep dark recesses of my aging brain. Is the cider “hard” cider?
Didn’t notice anything alcoholic here…but I have another place to send you!
Oooh I love cider and the cherry one sounds delicious, I think I would be carting some back home too! It is fun seeing stores like this that actually sell real homemade products.
Ruth
I love the look of that food and the cider. That part of the US is on my bucket list – perhaps I’ll get there one day.
That pie crust looks amazing! We would definitely stop there if we were in that neck of the woods.
Mmmm – You had me at pecan, blueberry, peach …! What a fun place to visit for a little nostalgia and good eats. And how convenient to have the opportunity to visit this place available on both sides of the road!
Had I known, I would have left time for another stop on the way back!
I love these charming roadside stores. I really enjoyed your post. Can we expect a story about the shop on the other side of the road?
We’ve stopped there and it’s everything described and more. We purchased a small peach pie and wished we’d purchased more flavors. Delicious! Also purchased a bottle of apple cider and it keeps very well in the refrigerator. The lady at the shop told me it would keep for two months in the fridge. Some pickled okra, fresh honey. All very good.