McCrady's, eLifespaces inspire praise

Minus the red carpet and A-list celebrities, this month has been a lot like Hollywood's awards show season for Charleston-area businesses.

Among the latest local operations to be recognized for their outstanding work are McCrady's restaurant and eLifespaces.

In its first published dining survey, "The 100 Best Restaurants of North America & Europe," Opinionated About Dining ranked McCrady's No. 6 in North America.

The 10-month survey was conducted at www.opinionatedabout.com, where readers voted on more than 1,600 restaurants. Each restaurant was given a point value based on the number of votes it received and organized into three categories: "Worth Planning a Trip Around" (105 points or higher), "Worth Going Out of Your Way For" (100-104 points) and "Important Local Choices" (95-99 points).

Coming in at 106 points, McCrady's was deemed "Worth Planning Your Trip Around" in the survey.

"These restaurants have been selected by opinionated 'destination diners' who plan their travel around dining out and business travelers who combine meetings with meals at interesting restaurants," said Steve Plotnicki, Opinionated About Dining's editor and publisher.

McCrady's, located at 2 Unity Alley on the peninsula, has a storied past, beginning in 1788 when Edward McCrady built it as an annex to his already-established McCrady's Tavern.

Now, Chef Sean Brock runs the kitchen, creating world-class cuisine that blends contemporary technique with traditional Southern charm and fresh ingredients from a 2.5 acre farm on Wadmalaw Island, which he created to supply a majority of the vegetables for the restaurant.

Technology contractor eLifespaces also won an award -- three, actually -- in the 2008 Mark of Excellence Awards presented by the Consumer Electronic Association's TechHome division.

Competing among technology companies nationwide, Charleston-based eLifespaces won Best Integrated Security Project, Best Distributed Audio/Video Project and the coveted Ultimate Home of the Year.

The Mark of Excellence Awards honor industry leaders in custom electronics products, services and installations that are instrumental in changing the shape of the connected home.

On (and off) the radar

--Crushed Fine Wine: Desmond and Betsy Garrity have opened a wine boutique at 716 S. Shelmore Blvd. in Shelmore Village, between S.C. Highway 17 and Mathis Ferry Road at I'On in Mount Pleasant. The store carries inventory selected from small independent producers and importers that is not available in grocery stores or large retail wine outlets.

--RoomStore: The location at 1750 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. in Charleston is closing April 27. The North Charleston store at 7558 Rivers Ave. will remain open.

Reach Abi Nicholas at 937-5524 or anicholas@postandcourier.com.