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SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – It was 1973 when Shirley McGreal, then living in Southeast Asia, saw beady bright eyes staring back at her from between the slats of a wooden crate.

The eyes belonged to a gibbon — a primate native to the region — who had fallen victim to the dangerous world of the pet trade, where gibbons were being sold into homes, zoos, or labs, only to later be discarded.

In 1977, McGreal created the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) in Summerville as a gibbon sanctuary. The now 47-acre property remains nestled in a quiet area of the Lowcountry that is illuminated by the sounds of the primates singing to one another.

Meg McCue-Jones, the Compliance and Outreach Manager, explained that the land was a sod farm in the late 70s and started taking in the gibbons that needed help soon after.

One of the sanctuary’s residents, Gibby, is one of the oldest known living gibbons at over 60 years old.

Like most of the gibbons at the sanctuary, his life started off rough.

McCue-Jones said that Gibby was wild caught, and “with every gibbon wild caught, they shoot mom out of the tree, hoping baby falls, and then they take the baby.”

He was first sold into the pet trade in by a Bangkok dealer, but that was just the beginning. Gibby went to labs at Hofstra University and the State University at Stony Brook.

Researchers embedded electrodes in his skin as part of a locomotion project.

The electrodes and thin wires were inserted into his muscles and connected him to a suit that would measure his muscle movements. McCue-Jones explained that this was obviously not an ideal situation on any aspect, whether it be a human or animal.

At 44, Gibby made it to his first sanctuary, but the conditions were hard on his body. In March of 2007, just four years after his arrival, the IPPL reached out to the sanctuary to relocate not only Gibby, but several other gibbons.

For Gibby, like the other 29 at the sanctuary, Summerville is his last stop. McCue-Jones says that the sanctuary is their forever home.

But with the pandemic, their home has become more difficult to manage.

With fear of COVID-19 spreading to the primates, volunteers were no longer allowed to assist with the many daily tasks necessary to keep the place running.

From hosing the outsides of the enclosures, to raking, food prep, and even assistance inside the office—the staff was left with mounting responsibilities.

The economic impacts of the pandemic left donors and community partners reeling financially, but the bills at the sanctuary remained steady.

As a non-federally funded organization, the IPPL relies heavily on donations to meet the needs of the animals.

Stacy Lambert, a Senior Animal Care Giver, said that since a lot of their population has started to reach geriatric ages, their vet bills are getting bigger as they are having more interventions and medications, different procedures, and checkup appointments with Dr. John Ohlandt.

While expensive, their system of care has proven to work.

Lambert says that in the wild, gibbons usually live about 30-35 years. However, in captivity, gibbons living into their 40s is normal. However, the IPPL has quite a few gibbons that are up in their 40s and 50s while, of course, Gibby is 62.

Although the interventions from the IPPL show the ability of the sanctuary, McCue-Jones said all those at the IPPL ultimately wish there was not a need for them at all, and that the gibbons could live freely in the wild.

McCue-Jones said, “as Shirley has spoken of before, if you really think about it, do humans need sanctuaries, should we have them? Should we be treating the animals this way?”

To send the Gibbons a care package full of nuts, click here.

To donate to the IPPL’s missions and day-to-day operations, click here.

To send specified items needed by the IPPL via Amazon, click here.

SUMMERVILLE — Tables begin to fill up just past noon at a restaurant 31 miles from downtown Charleston.

Surrounded by chain eateries in a Publix-anchored strip mall, La Cuisine Du Chevalier — or La Chev, as most call it — has the buzz of an energetic lunch crowd ready for some midday human interaction.

A trio of women attempt to corral four children while dunking grilled bread into large white bowls of bouillabaisse, brimming with mussels, shrimp and white fish, all steeping in saffron broth.

Empty black shells are pushed aside at another round mahogany table, where two friends catch up over mussels and glasses of iced tea.

A man sitting solo at a two-top finishes his meal and tells the server he will be back next week.

These are the sights and sounds of a restaurant that’s become a neighborhood lunchtime favorite less than a year after quietly opening in November 2022.

I would have never found La Chev without a tip from a colleague, but I’m glad I came. That satisfaction extends to residents of the Knightsville and Summerville area, who have thanked owner Jason Tucker for bringing his Southern take on French cuisine to them rather than downtown Charleston.

“A lot of people were confused about why I did it here,” said Tucker, a Summerville resident. “I saw the direction of where the homes are going.”

Tucker struck out on his own after cutting his professional teeth at restaurants in Charleston’s French Quarter. Inside the strip center space that previously housed a Ladles sandwich and soup shop, the Johnson & Wales University graduate is teaming up with La Chev’s chef de cuisine, Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville.

Whether it’s crab dip with grilled bread or seared scallops over French onion cheese risotto, DuPriest is consistently coming up with new daily specials that the restaurant posts on its Facebook page, which takes the place of an actual website.

La Chev boasts separate lunch and dinner menus, but there are several crossovers, including the shrimp and grits, crab croquettes and yellowfin tuna — a dish that stood out after two visits to the restaurant.

The lightly-seared tuna, served cold, rests on a steaming hot medley of chopped asparagus, corn, confit tomato and cubed bacon. A speckled cream sauce pulls the vegetables together, adding sweet smokiness to the fresh but mild fish.

“It doesn’t just play with your taste buds, it plays with the temperature sensitivities of your palate, as well,” Tucker said.

With a nice crust and firm pink center, the tuna hits all corners of my mouth, leaving soft, peppery spice behind. Though served as an appetizer, I enjoyed it as my full meal with an order of duck coq au vin dumplings — a fun riff on a French classic — on the side.

During dinner, the white tablecloths are brought out and topped with larger appetizers and mains that allow for some “Lowcountry liberties,” Tucker said.

For instance, crab croquettes are more petite crab cake than filled-and-fried roll, but the flawed descriptor doesn’t take away from each delicate bite. Paired with a light and bright diced cucumber salad, the patties’ crab-to-filler ratio favors the former.

A trio of cheese-adorned meatballs, floating in tomato ragù and served with small wedges of garlic bread, is another appetizer that satisfies without reinventing the wheel.

The same can often be said for the restaurant’s dinner entrees.

Roasted salmon, stuffed with crab and served atop crisp green beans, is one example of an expertly cooked daily special. On the side, Carolina Gold rice is bound with cheese to form a thick patty, bringing substance and salt to the Southern grains.

Steak, which appears to have been marinated and spent some time in the oven, makes up for a lack of crust with a juicy, tender texture — almost reminiscent of the roasted filet of beef my mother serves at Christmas.

Of the six dishes I sampled at La Chev, each one left me without complaints.

There isn’t much in the way of décor, more noticeable during a Monday night dinner service that saw just two occupied tables between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. This was a far cry from the crowded lunch service I witnessed weeks before, making me ponder if ownership might consider closing their doors on Monday, typically the slowest dining day of the week.

It also made me wonder if this type of restaurant — a place that skirts the line between neighborhood establishment and one worthy of a special night out — can work in this location.

I remain optimistic.

While it’s just four miles from the town’s top restaurants — Laura, Bexley and La Rustica, among others — it’s less crowded and closer to home for many Summerville restaurants.

And as those who have dined at La Chev have likely realized, there isn’t anything like it in Knightsville.

By Casey L. Taylor, JD

Tucked away near Summerville, SC – the place known as “Flowertown, USA” – is a sanctuary dedicated to gibbons (small apes). It’s a jungle-like wonderland that has lifesaving at the core of its mission.

The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) sanctuary is a secret to many locals. It is situated on over 40 acres of land surrounded by lush woods. Neighbors are lucky enough to hear the songs and great calls of these interesting primates throughout the day and night.

The sanctuary is home to 36 gibbons, the smallest of the apes, who have been rescued or retired from laboratories, deplorable “roadside” attractions, or the pet trade. IPPL provides lifetime care to these incredible endangered species and works to educate the community on the plight of gibbons in the wild.

The gibbon residents at the sanctuary have indoor night houses that are hurricane-grade, expansive outdoor habitats, and aerial walkways that give them the choice to safely move about their designated areas as they wish. It is important to the organization that each sanctuary resident is given as much freedom of choice as possible in a captive environment, while keeping them safe. Despite most residents having a rough start to their lives, they thrive at IPPL. They even have some residents nearing the age of 60!

International Outreach

IPPL is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the world’s remaining primates, great and small. For the last 45 years, IPPL has made a global impact by securing an export ban on primates from Thailand (saving thousands and thousands of lives) and working with over 20 reputable primate rescue and rehabilitation centers in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.

IPPL not only supports their efforts to care for native primates who have been rescued and are in need of rehabilitation or lifetime care, but also to thwart poachers and illegal wildlife traffickers, as well as educate local villages and communities on how they can help be part of the solution in preserving native populations of primates.

Small Team, Big Impact

With a small but mighty team of animal caregivers, maintenance technicians, office staff, and dog nannies, IPPL provides compassionate lifetime care for every resident, which includes nutritious and delicious fresh produce three times a day for the gibbons, as well as veterinary care and enrichment — to stimulate those intelligent minds of theirs!

Forms of enrichment vary from food puzzles that the gibbon must figure out in order to get their healthy treats, to special time with their favorite caregiver. Bubble-blowing is a big hit with some of the gibbons. Tong, who was one of the first four original residents at the sanctuary, loves a good foot rub — what girl doesn’t?

Absolutely nothing beats a life in the wild, but for these residents that is sadly not a reality. The team at IPPL feels that the least they can do is make the rest of these individuals’ lives the happiest and healthiest they can be. From residents used in invasive human vaccination studies and locomotion tests, to those kept in less-than-favorable conditions, IPPL’s sanctuary is a safe and loving place for them to thrive and to live as gibbons should.

Casey L. Taylor, JD is the Executive Director of IPPL.

MORE ABOUT IPPL

The sanctuary is not open to the public as an attraction, but it holds educational events in the community and offers options to visit during special times. Sign up to receive their e-newsletters on their website (www.ippl.org) and be the first to know about opportunities and events.

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Jason Tucker reports that business is booming at the boîte known as La Cuisine du Chevalier, or La Chev, by the locals. The 40-seat restaurant, which translates to “the knight’s kitchen,” garnered rave reviews by online contributors when it opened in November at the former soup restaurant called Ladles in the Shoppes of Summerville.

It only recently held a grand opening celebration.

Tucker, who has lived in Summerville for the past 16 years, is no stranger to the restaurant business.

“My background is extremely diverse and it started back when I was 15-years’ old scooping ice cream in Central Pennsylvania,” he said.

Related content: Charleston rooftop bar, restaurant to renovate, rebrand

Over the years, Tucker has worked in numerous restaurants, from chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel and the Hilton, to groups like Charleston Hospitality and more. After bartending his way through college in Virginia, the hard-working transplant accepted a management position from his employer, which took him to Summerville, where he has been ever since.

The father of two boys is also the operating partner at Wine & Tapas in Summerville and was buoyed by the popularity of the business. This inspired him to open a new restaurant, this time with a French flair.

“They call the area the French Quarter, but it lacked a French-themed restaurant, which never made sense to me, especially with the growth we are seeing in this area,” he said.

Tucker said that La Chev was designed to evoke the feeling of walking down the Champs-Élysées.

“It’s a cute café that’s quaint and all about the food and wine,” he said.

It doesn’t hurt that Tucker worked in the wine distribution business and is well-versed on what’s exceptional. He said that his goal is to bring people in by rivaling the quality that a customer would get in downtown Charleston.

“It’s all about the ingredients and there’s a lot of precision and thought that goes into each of our dishes,” he said, adding that chef de cuisine Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville, is Johnson and Wales-trained.

When it comes to dishes, Tucker said that the most popular lunch items that they serve are the French Dip and the shrimp and grits.

“A lot of people judge the quality of the restaurant by their shrimp and grits,” he said.

As for dinner, Tucker offers quite a few specials, ranging from steak dishes, to surf and turf, scallops, crabcakes, and salmon.

“Everyone says that it’s the best salmon served in the Atlantic Coastal area,” Tucker said.

For now, La Chev is taking reservations, except for the bar and outside area, so last-minute plans to dine can be accommodated if guests don’t mind sitting in either area.

Tucker also recently announced that they will be open on Sundays for brunch.

“We’re currently working on the menu which we will implement sometime around the end of July,” he said.

Kurry Seymour was a Ladles customer who was wowed by his first visit.

“This place brings a refreshing vibe to the Knightsville area and I am impressed by the décor, which was converted into a very fine, but very cozy dining experience,” he said.

Reviews like this are music to Tucker’s ears.

“I never thought I’d be in a situation where I’d be running two separate restaurants, but I love the feeling one gets when someone is happy with an experience. Making moments special is the best feeling in the world and having the opportunity to have someone really love what you’re doing, well, it doesn’t get any better than that,” he said, with a smile.

Stefanie Kalina-Metzger is a contributing writer for SC Biz News.

A 14-year-old fitness site that changed brands in 2015 is now dark in Mount Pleasant.

Pivotal Fitness shuttered the 41,000-square-foot gym it operates at 627 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in the Plaza at East Cooper Shopping Center on Friday, and movers were loading up the workout equipment into large moving vans Tuesday.

Discount grocer Aldi anchors a space near the opposite end of the 102,000-square-foot retail center.

Co-owner Michelle Berrard said the gear is being transferred to Pivotal’s recently upgraded Park West location at 3301 Stockdale St. about 8 miles away in northern Mount Pleasant.

All memberships will be honored at the Park West site, she said.

Berrard pointed to the coronavirus as playing a part in the move along with high rent. She said the gym’s lease was coming up for renewal, so the owners decided to consolidate operations elsewhere to save money.

The facility operated as ECO Fitness after opening in 2007. After Pivotal took over six years ago, the gym expanded into a former retail space next door.

Pivotal operates 24-hour locations in downtown Charleston and in Hanahan and Knightsville. Its other gyms are in Summerville and West Ashley.

A new tenant has not been lined up for the now-empty fitness site, but Steve Radekopf of Radekopf & Associates, who handles leasing for the shopping center, said plans are in the works to create small retail spaces across the front with the possibility of a smaller gym operating in part of the site.

All plans are preliminary and subject to change, he added.

It’s back to the drawing board for Clemson as its Charleston-based architecture and urban design program resumes its search for a permanent home.

The university said this week it has canceled a $12.1 million deal to purchase a 1.12-acre compound in the historic Wraggborough neighborhood.

“Unfortunately, during our due diligence phase on the property, it was discovered that there would be additional significant funds required for the program to work on that site,” it said in a written statement. “After some discussion and negotiation with the seller, Clemson submitted a notice to terminate the contract.”

The university also said it “continues to explore options for the continued success and growth of the architecture program on the Charleston peninsula where we have been for over 35 years.”

In June, the school’s board of trustees approved the acquisition of three properties, including a historic home that had been converted into offices, at 16 Charlotte, 515 East Bay and 102 Alexander streets. The site is a few blocks south of the Clemson Design Center’s existing campus.

The sale was expected to close Dec. 31, after a four-month inspection period.

The property owner is affiliated with the former Charleston-based medical firm NCGS Inc., which used it for its headquarters and put it on the market early last year after the business was sold.

Mark Mizell and Richard Callari of Birchin Lane Realty Advisors, who represents the seller, said the decision to terminate the deal wasn’t “driven by issues discovered about the building” during the inspection period and that it “was not in the best interest of our client to accommodate” Clemson’s “request to keep the property off the market for non-building related issues.”

“The seller, who has close ties to the university, was exceedingly accommodating ... but ultimately had to make the decision not to further extend,” they said. “The uniqueness of this offering and expressions of interest from other prospective buyers necessitated a return to the market.”

With some of the 787 Dreamliner program’s biggest orders now on the books, Boeing Co. is beefing up its labor force at its North Charleston campus where the wide-body planes are built.

The planemaker added 1,399 workers in South Carolina in 2023, the company said in its annual employment report.

That brings the total of Boeing workers in the Palmetto State to 7,864 — the biggest headcount since the company established major operations in the Charleston region in 2009 and a hefty 21.6 percent increase from 2022.

The bulk of Boeing’s in-state workforce is employed at the Dreamliner assembly campus off International Boulevard — the only site that makes the long-range commercial jet. The aerospace giant also has a jet engine factory, a research and technology center and a site that makes interior cabin parts for the 787 at Palmetto Commerce Park, also in North Charleston.

All told, Arlington Va.-based Boeing increased its global workforce by more than 14,000 for a total of 170,688 employees. More than a third of them — 66,797 — are based at the company’s legacy manufacturing sites in Washington state.

“Our investments in engineering and manufacturing roles drove our growth in 2023, while we also simplified our corporate structure to better align resources in direct support of our products and services,” Boeing said in a written statement.

Pent-up consumer demand for long-haul air travel has airlines clamoring for big jets, and that has helped Boeing notch 452 gross orders for its Dreamliner family over the past two years. That includes a record booking for 150 planes from United Airlines and a combined 78 jets for a pair of Saudi Arabian carriers.

The North Charleston plant has ramped up monthly 787 production to five with plans to hit 10 per month by 2025 or 2026. The increased workforce and production level will help Boeing chip away at a backlog that includes 799 unfilled Dreamliner orders.

A North Carolina health system has finalized its acquisition of East Cooper Medical Center and two other coastal South Carolina hospitals, a $2.4 billion deal that expands its footprint into the Palmetto State.

Novant Health of Winton-Salem announced the deal with seller Tenet Healthcare Corp. in November.

In addition to the 140-bed East Cooper Medical, which opened in 1985, the sale included the 93-bed Hilton Head Hospital on Hilton Head Island and the 44-bed Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville.

Tenet said all three were making money last year. They generated a combined $552 million in annual revenue through Sept. 30, or nearly $2 million on a per-bed basis.

Novant also purchased more than two dozen hospital-affiliated physician clinics and other operations, such as two freestanding sites that provide emergency and outpatient services to residents of Beaufort and Jasper counties.

“Novant Health’s long-term vision is to transform the health and wellness of these communities through expanded specialty services and clinical expertise,” CEO Carl Armato said in a Feb. 1 written statement. “We are energized and united behind our cause to create a healthier future together by building connections with patients and clinicians in coastal South Carolina.”

Dallas-based Tenet said in November that it would retain and upgrade the ambulatory units that its United Surgical Partners International division operates in the Charleston, Beaufort and Jasper markets. Another subsidiary will handle the billing, reimbursement and payment collection services for the newly divested hospitals under a 15-year contract with Novant.

The deal gives the North Carolina system its first full-service medical centers in South Carolina. It operates 16 hospitals in its home state, including some in border markets.

Also, Novant is investing $75 million to expand into the Grand Strand and Pee Dee region through a joint venture with Conway Medical Center.