Real estate developer and restaurateur David Meunier is planning three new Aiken concepts, each reflecting his signature style.
Meunier’s restaurant experience spans decades. He attended culinary school in France at age 15, completing a three-year program before entering the industry at 18. His new concepts will become the 55th, 56th and 57th restaurants he has helped bring to life.
“I open a restaurant when I can’t find one that I like or if it’s not in the area. If there is a restaurant that I like and I go there, I don’t need to open another one like it. I like to be a destination, to be a specialty restaurant,” Meunier told What Now Charleston.
After establishing French and Italian concepts in Aiken, including La Parisienne, La Scuderia and La Bourgogne Polo Club, and revamping Neon Fig, Meunier is now preparing to open a seafood restaurant, an Argentine steakhouse and an English pub.
La Mer, the first of the three concepts, will open at 856 Sea Lane. Its name, which translates to “The Sea,” is a nod to the restaurant’s location.
“It’s going to be fresh fish and fresh seafood; we’re not going to have anything fried,” he said.
The menu will feature grouper, snapper, loup de mer, mahi-mahi, Dover sole and lobster sourced from Maine, Florida and Norway, along with a three-tier seafood platter piled with snow crab, crab legs, king crab and clams.
Meunier is applying for permits, with La Mer targeting an October opening.
The second concept, Las Vacas Gordas, will open at 394 Park Ave. Its name translates to “fat cows.”
“Aiken has a lot of polo players six months out of the year, so there’s a huge customer base for that style of restaurant. I think everybody else will also like an Argentine grill, too. It’s going to be a great steakhouse,” he said.
Las Vacas Gordas is slated to debut 45 to 60 days after La Mer.
Finally, the third concept will be an English pub called Fox and Hound, a name commonly associated with pubs across the United Kingdom. It will be located at the front of the Park Avenue building.
“There is no English pub here in Aiken, and me, I’m craving to drink a yard of beer in the yard glass,” Meunier said.
Meunier is appearing before the City of Aiken Design Review Board to seek design approval because he wants to improve the restaurant’s facade to resemble a traditional English pub. Fox and Hound is targeting an early 2027 opening.
All three restaurants will have an intimate feel, with seating for about 45 to 50 guests each.
“The restaurants are on the same block. It’s different buildings, but they are touching each other. We’re going to be using a central kitchen. It’s a big, big kitchen. We’ll be able to serve the three different foods with different stations and cross-train the staff,” he said.
While Meunier is looking forward to opening the new concepts, he said the build-out phase is what excites him most.
“I take a lot of pleasure in building because I have a personal signature touch, sharing my experience and my taste. When people come, they don’t just come to have a meal with their friend. They are in a special atmosphere,” he said.
In the meantime, visit Meunier’s other Aiken concepts while you await the debut of the new restaurants. Stay tuned!
