Jayson and Christie Ridinger know better than to mess with a good thing. The couple owned Christie’s restaurant in downtown Brunswick, and they recently purchased Cargo Portside Grill from Kate Buchannan. While Christie’s will be closing its doors, the Ridingers do not to expect too many changes at Cargo.
Cargo was actually the model the Ridingers used when they started Christie’s. Cargo and Christie’s have always been more like sister restaurants, rather than competitors so the transition should be easy. Both restaurants had the same ideas and views on customer service. The last night for Christie’s was New Year’s Eve.
The Ridingers started serving dinner on January 6th and open for lunch five days a weeks on January 13th. The staffs of both restaurants will remain and merge to form lunch and dinner teams. The Cargo menu, for the most part, will stay the same. However Christie’s well-known homemade ice cream will be an addition.
Change was something that was already on the Ridingers’ minds and when Cargos became available they decided it was a perfect fit. It was perfect timing as the Ridinger’s lease was going to be up at the end of the year. Cargo’s intimate dining room seats 68 and guests are encouraged to “Wear a golf shirt and relax.” A full bar, international wine list with many “by-the-glass” choices and imported beers are reasonably-priced. The private “Loft Above CARGO” (seating fifty) is an ideal location for private parties, business presentations, rehearsal dinners, and family gatherings.
Contemporary in design, with stunning enlarged, tinted photographs of historic ship activity in Brunswick’s port, the space feels “hip,” as guests dine beneath a large (9 x 12) loose canvas impressionistic painting of a steamship by artist Brent Baker.Two hundred year old heart pine tables and a handsome bar fashioned from the original floor joists of the 3-story, 112 year old “Elliot Building” were featured by HGTV’s “If Walls Could Talk,” Southern Living Magazine, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyle, N.P.R, and Georgia Trend Magazine.
Directions to Cargo: From St. Simons Island: Cross F.J. Torras Causeway. Left on Highway 17 (at end). Right on Gloucester. Left on Newcastle. Building on immediate right. 1423 Newcastle Street. Brunswick, Georgia 31520. 912-267-7330.
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