No Ordinary Goat

After years of working in the restaurant biz, local residents Kelly Ruff and her fiancé Jason Lewis felt the time was ripe to open their own place. Ruff grew up in the F&B industry and worked as a server and bartender at numerous places around Charleston, including a lengthy stint as a server at Justine’s Kitchen downtown. Lewis also worked at the popular Southern eatery as well as years in the kitchen of Italian restaurants and pizzerias.
The one thing that both southern cuisine and Italian staples like pizza and pasta have in common is their all “comfort food” says Lewis. And this is exactly where Lewis and Ruff’s new restaurant, The Green Goat excels, in comforting folks with delicious down-home meals with a creative twist.
Although Ruff has spent years as a bartender and server, she leaves the back of the house to Lewis, who has 23 years as a chef. “You don’t want me cooking, but I’m definitely a people-pleaser,” says Ruff. “A meal can make or break a vacation or a workday, so customer service is something I really focus on.”
Recently opened in the space that was the longtime home to George’s Sports Bar, diners are shocked when they see the metamorphosis the space has undergone. There’s still is a large bar on the left side of the restaurant with a couple TVs and mural by local artist Laura Hendrick-Watkins, featuring an island of happy goats tubing, wining and picnicking against a backdrop of the old Cooper River Bridges. The other side of the Green Goat is a cozy, family-friendly restaurant with booths, tables, boosters, and highchairs, and some cute and kitschy décor. “We are a restaurant with a bar, not a bar that serves food,” says Ruff.
The menu features inspiration from East of the Mississippi — the South, the Midwest, and Northeast. Some dishes are even named for family members, for example, the ‘Bampa’ is Ruff’s grandfather’s signature fried pork loin sandwich, its name stems from how Ruff pronounced “grandpa” when she was about her daughter Rali Jean’s age. The chicken and bacon pasta is Lewis’ signature pasta dish, but some of their other popular items have been the ham and Swiss stuffed meatloaf, shrimp and grits, and Lewis’ deliciously rich Newcastle Brown Ale Mac & Cheese.
Most entrees, including the Blue Plate Specials, are $10 and under. In the near future, Ruff looks forward to offering unique desserts you don’t see won’t find anywhere else as well as a Sunday Brunch menu. Right now the Green Goat is in its first weeks and just serving its lunch and dinner menu.
 
The Green Goat is located at 1300 Savannah Hwy. For more information call 737-0820 or visit them online at greengoatcharleston.com.