Berkeley’s Team Expands Charleston Neighborhood Vibes With the Opening of the Archer

The couple behind Wagener Terrace hangout Berkeley’s (624 1/2 Rutledge Avenue) recently opened their second restaurant, the Archer (601 Meeting Street), and it’s already taking over Instagram feeds in Charleston. Restaurateurs Marc and Liz Hudacsko wanted their follow-up establishment to be more upscale but maintain a community-based environment.

“We’re neighborhood people,” says Marc. “We wanted to open another restaurant that’s for the people of Charleston, for this neighborhood. But you know, the neighborhood is not just the couple blocks surrounding a restaurant. To me, it’s everybody in the community.”

Luke Higgs

While Berkeley’s focuses on sandwiches and flavors from the couple’s New Jersey upbringing, the Archer concentrates on fine dining-level comfort plates. “Back in the ‘90s, the term New American was kind of everywhere. And I feel like it’s a bad word, but it’s kind of what we are — elevated comfort food and things that are familiar,” says Marc, “One of our rules is you shouldn’t have to pull out your phone and Google anything on the menu. But it’s still exciting and some little twists on it.”

The Archer chef, Paul Farmer (formerly of Three Sirens), puts out plates like duck frites, baked oysters, beef stroganoff, chicken liver mousse, and chilled crab dip. “We have some really simple staples that make the Archer a place where, if you live really close, you want to come here three times a week, and if you want to have a burger, a great roast chicken, and a steak, it’s there. But if you want to be a little bit more adventurous and have the frisee salad with crispy fried pig ears and duck confit, we’ve got that for you too,” says Marc, “It’s the kind of food I want to eat.”

The Archer also has a full bar with fun cocktails like a Freezer Door Martini with “salty things” and a Seven Year Spritz with watermelon shrub. “I think having a restaurant that has a great bar scene and feels like a place where you gather and run into people you know is a great addition,” says Marc. He sees it as an alternative to those who may not want to venture out on the rowdier parts of King Street to get to a decent restaurant.

Many years ago, I read a review by Pete Wells in the New York Times for a restaurant that opened. it was a pretty rough review, and the last line was, ‘It’s hard to be cool when you’re trying to be important,’ and it always really stuck with me,” says Marc, “That’s what we try to do with service, with the food, with the cocktails — what’s more important than anything is that it’s enjoyable, relatable, and familiar. And if you can do a lot of cool stuff in the background to make it better, then that’s what we’re all about.”