Highly anticipated restaurant sets opening date in Charleston

A new restaurant from the owners of a popular private events company has set an opening date in Charleston. Merci , led by Courtney and Michael Zentner of The Drifter, will open March 22. Hours of operation are 5-10 p.

m. Wednesday through Saturday. Housed inside a circa 1820s Federal-style building in downtown’s mostly residential Harleston Village, Merci is the Zentners’ first restaurant.



It draws inspiration from the couple’s travels to Europe and establishments they frequented in New York and Boston. Merci’s food offering reflects Michael Zentner’s resume, which includes a stint at Charleston Grill. The restaurant’s culinary ethos also nods to The Drifter , the couple’s pandemic-born bread-baking business that morphed into a full-scale private events company with multiple employees.

“We kind of always envisioned The Drifter turning into something like this, but something very small,” Zentner said. Leading large-scale dinners over the past five years has enabled the chef to hone his skills in a way that wasn’t possible in restaurants. The menu at the 20-seat Merci, featuring European-inspired creations made with local ingredients, is an extension of that cooking.

“You get such direct feedback,” Zentner said of the events. “As a (restaurant) chef, you don’t really get that very often.” Options will include duck ballotine and house-made focaccia topped with stracciatella cheese, pistachios, fermented hot honey and Benton’s ham.

Steak tartare will be amplified by fresh-baked charcoal black bread, and fresh gnudi will be brightened by peas. Merci’s offering leans light, but meat-forward plat du jours — lamb on Fridays and beef Wellington on Saturdays, for instance — are more robust. Courtney Zentner collaborated with local designer Helen Rice to bring vintage tableware, antique furniture, art and Spanish light fixtures inside the 200-year-old building.

The setting is given a contemporary touch with artwork, custom cherry cabinetry and a six-seat bar, where wine from an all-French list will be poured. Merci is located at 28 Pitt St. next door to Petit Merci , the Zentners’ small bakery and provisions shop.

The restaurant will accept walk-in diners, and reservations can be made on resy.com . For more information, visit mercichs.

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