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| The pumps in front of Whaley's serve as a reminder that the building was once a gas station. |
Whaley’s achieved prominence when it was listed among Coastal Living’s top 25 seafood dives of the South Atlantic. When I visited Whaley’s website and saw that it served food in a former gas station, I was intent on going there whenever I was within an hour or so away. There I found a framed display on the wall attesting that Whaley’s is a seafood dive that Coastal Living loves. Even Southern Living considers it a top spot for local seafood.
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| The Coastal Living cover and article are prominently displayed. |
True to its history as a gas station, Whaley’s still has the old pumps in front of the building, which opened for business in 1948. Instead of customers pulling up for a tank of regular, they now stop for something to drink and eat. A visit to the restrooms proves how old the building is – they are located outside in the back, appropriate for a building designed in the 1940s as a gas station.
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| Finding the restrooms at Whaley's is easy -- they're outside. |
All sandwiches come with “raw fries,” which are Idaho potatoes sliced thin and then fried. They were extremely addictive, and I finished them well before my sandwich, a “Sarah Jane BLT” (a BLT with grilled shrimp and avocado) that alone was worth the drive to Edisto Beach. I also shared an order of shrimp and crab bisque with my wife, who described it as one of the best that she had ever tasted.
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| My wife (right) meets Whaley's famous owner/operator/bartender, a veteran of the Korean Conflict who at 82 stays young by working. |
After I had ordered, I overhead a customer at a nearby table order the “Big Ugly” burger, which I had seen on the menu. However, it didn’t match its name; it looked too good – not ugly at all. He and his companion were traveling from Florida and were also visiting Whaley’s for good food.
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| Whaley's is picturesque -- it even received a beautification award in 2012 from the Council of Edisto Beach (the vines in front must have been the clincher). |
Let’s hope that Whaley’s keeps serving local bar customers, seafood lovers, and wandering tourists for a long time – and that its building continues to evoke memories of an era that has slipped away from many beach towns.
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| The ocean surf is only two blocks away from Whaley's in Edisto Beach, SC. |
