Verde, a new salad-focused, quick service restaurant on King St., decided to celebrate their Grand Opening and participate in the 2nd Annual “Small Business Saturday.” Verde has spearheaded the movement in Charleston and is encouraging holiday shoppers to shop and eat small this Saturday, November 26.

Several local Charleston businesses will join the national Small Business Saturday (SBS) movement, which has support from American Express, Federal Express, the Better Business Bureau and others. Strategically planned between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday encourages shoppers to favor the locally owned businesses that are often the soul of their communities. Now in its second year, organizers credit the effort for helping increase same day sales by 27% in 2010, over 2009.

“At Verde, we are committed to all things green, which includes sustainable shopping,” says owner Jennifer Ferrebee. “What better way to help the local economy than to encourage people to shop small and patronize their locally owned merchants?”

To encourage shoppers to eat local and celebrate its Grand Opening that day, Verde will offer several specially priced “Small Business Salads” for only $5 (regularly priced at $8.95). Guests can also sign up to win one of three Verde gift packs, which each include a $20 Verde certificate and Buy Local Card from Lowcountry Local First. Buy Local Cards will also be available for purchase.

Verde’s owners have recruited other local businesses to join the Small Business Saturday, including:

• Hampden Clothing (314 King St.): 20% off all regularly priced items
• The Vault (307 King St.): 10% discount for locals
• Worthwhile (268 King St.): 20% off clothing, shoes and accessories
• Charleston Mattress (main: 10 Storehouse Row, Mom & Pop-Up Shop: 359 King St.): Free vintage wash tee with purchase of mattress if you mention this deal. $20 value
• Finicky Filly (303 King St.): 30% off jewelry
• Haute Hanger (307 King St.): 10% off all items
• Cupcake (433 King St.): Buy a dozen cupcakes and get 4 tokens to use at a later date (token good for 1 cupcake, $11 value)
• Copper Penny and Copper Penny Shooz (311/313 King St. & Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre)- 10-70% off the entire store
• Thera M. (346 King St.): 20% off regularly priced shoes and sweaters

To find out the latest from businesses participating in the event, visit Small Business Saturday in Charleston Facebook event page.

In addition to driving sales to small businesses, this initiative has customer benefits, like special offers and a $25 one-time credit on shoppers’ American Express statements if a minimum of $25 is spent on the card at participating stores.

Verde, Charleston’s first salad-focused, quick service restaurant, is located at 347 King St. The menu features inventive “signature creations,” and guests can choose to “create their own” salad from over 40, fresh ingredients and 13 house-made dressings. Verde is open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, call 843-579-2884 or visit www.eatatverde.com. Connect with Verde on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EatAtVerde.

Verde was included in a SBS video on MSN’s Business on Main site, watch it below:

Live 5 News also covered the movement locally, watch that video here.

Want to see the Nicholas Sparks (author of The Notebook) film adaptation of Dear John before anyone else? Want to see Channing Tatum in person? Want to attend a Hollywood-inspired party in Charleston? You can do all of these at the Dear John Charleston premiere on Sunday, January 24. Proceeds from this exclusive event will benefit Carolina Autism, whose client, Braeden Reed, has a role in the movie.

Charleston premiere of Screen Gems’ Dear John, a film based on the Nicolas Sparks novel. Dear John was filmed around Charleston, and a local child actor has a significant role in the movie. The stars, film crew and other celebrities will be in attendance, and the Official After Party will feature music by DJ Moo Moo, specialty cocktail stations and innovative hors d’oeuvres and desserts by Cru Catering. Tickets are $250 (portion is tax deductible) and include both the screening and after party. Seating is limited to the first 400 guests, and more information and tickets can be purchased at www.dearjohncharlestonpremiere.com. Dress for the evening is cocktail attire.

The premiere is a fundraiser for Carolina Autism, which provides services to Dear John actor, Braeden Reed, 7. Autism now affects 1 in 91 children in the U.S., and Carolina Autism provides early intervention (Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy) to children with autism and manages group homes for adults with autism.

Dear John is a romantic drama about a soldier who falls in love with a conservative college student. The movie tells the story of John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a young soldier home on leave, and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), the idealistic college student he falls in love with during her spring vacation. Over the next seven tumultuous years, the couple is separated by John’s increasingly dangerous deployments. While meeting only sporadically, they stay in touch by sending a continuous stream of love letters overseas—correspondence that eventually triggers fateful consequences. Dear John will open in theaters nationwide on February 5.

Join other Lowcountry businesses for a FREE, 20-minute “Quick Connect” webinar on Wednesday, September 23 at 8:30 a.m.

The topic is “Why Smart Businesses Win By Targeting Nonprofit Customers.”

Webinar description from the Pluff Mud Connect website:

Time is limited and your to-do list is long. We get it. But we also have some great ideas on how and why businesses should be targeting nonprofits as customers. In the time it takes to finish that morning cup of coffee, or idle in traffic, we’ll give you five ideas on how to profit from working with nonprofits. Participants are invited via web and phone. Click here to register and don’t forget to tell your business colleagues.

Is it time to update your old recliner or office chair? Starting Monday, September 7, Relax the Back, a specialty neck and back store in Mt. Pleasant, will offer up to $300 credit toward the purchase of a new office chair or recliner when you trade in your old chair during their “Cash for Clunker Chairs” program. “Cash for Clunker Chairs” will conclude Monday, September 21.

To receive the credit, customers must bring in their old office chair, and recliners will be picked up upon delivery.

Old chairs in good, working condition will be given a new life and will be donated to Carolina Autism to be used in that non-profit’s group homes and offices. There will also be a donation box in-store, and Relax the Back will match these cash donations.

Additionally, Relax the Back just launched a Facebook fan page (Relax the Back Mount Pleasant) and will upload photos of traded-in chairs. Fans will vote on the ugliest chair. The unburdened owner of the “ugliest chair” will win a new chair from Relax the Back.

Unlike the automotive program that inspired it, Relax the Back will find a good home for trade-ins in good condition. Carolina Autism provides in-home Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy to over 150 area children, and services 24 children and adults in eight, local group homes. For more information on Carolina Autism, visit www.carolinaautism.org/ or call 843-573-1905.

Relax the Back carries a variety of office chairs and Zero Gravity recliners for all user needs. Office chairs are ergonomically designed to fit the person to their workspace, and come in an array of colors, materials and features. Zero Gravity recliners are not only comfortable, but also improve circulation, relieve pressure on the back and expands lung capacity.

For more information on Relax the Back, visit www.relaxtheback.com or call 843-881-1866.

Tristan will preview Chef Deal’s second trip to the James Beard House in New York City with a special dinner and fundraiser in Charleston.

The preview dinner – which will showcase the entire menu that Deal will prepare the following week at the famed James Beard House – will take place on Tuesday, January 20, with hors d’oeuvre at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. The seven-course menu will be paired with wine, and will feature sustainable produce from The Chef’s Garden. Tickets are $100 plus tax and gratuity. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Veggie U, a non-profit organization that educates children on making wise food choices that enhance nutrition, combat obesity and emphasize the understanding of sustainable agriculture.

The menu will feature: Charleston She Crab Soup, Duck Confit, Butternut Squash Terrine, Heirloom Beet Salad, White Tuna, Veal Short Rib, Foie Gras Pot De Crème and Mignardises.

Prior to the dinner, Chef Deal and The Chef’s Garden co-owner and farmer, Lee Jones, will hold a demonstration and discussion from 9 -10:30 a.m. at the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s Palmer Campus Demonstration Kitchen. Farmer Jones will discuss the principles behind sustainable agriculture from earth to plate, and Chef Deal will demonstrate his contemporary approaches using The Chef’s Garden produce. This event is free, but a reservation is required because seating is limited. Call 820-5074 to reserve a seat.

Veggie U. was created by Jones and his colleagues at The Chef’s Garden, which supplies the world’s top chefs with over 600 varieties of vegetables, micro greens and herbs. The produce grown at The Chef’s Garden differs from traditional methods because the soil builds year after year, and produce is grown without the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Call 534-2155 to inquire or to make reservations. Seating is limited.

To celebrate New Year’s Eve, Tristan will be serving a special, three-course dinner menu. Guests will also enjoy a champagne toast at midnight to kick off 2009.

The New Years Eve menu will feature three courses for $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Jazz/funk band, A Touch of Class, will entertain guests with a mix of covers and originals beginning at 8 p.m. Reservations can be made for seatings at 7, 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Guests seeking a more intimate evening can reserve the private room for up to 16 guests.

The restaurant will be closed for lunch on New Years Eve and closed New Years Day.

For New Years Eve 2008, Executive Chef Aaron Deal has created the following menu, and guests may choose a favorite dish from each category:

First

Cauliflower Bisque

Sevruga Caviar, Chervil, Lemon

Kumamoto Oysters

Yuzu Dashi Gelee, Pickled Celery

Winter Radish Salad

Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette, Split Creek Chevre, Black Truffle

Foie Gras

Saigon Cinnamon, Ginger Apple Turnover, Brie Fondue, Apple Sherry

Second

Cold Water Lobster Tail

Yukon Potato Gnocchi, Young Parmesan Emulsion, Micro Herbs

Filet of Beef Tenderloin

Fingerling Potato, Baby Carrot, Pearl Onion, Cabernet Jus

Vermillion Snapper

Green Lentils, Country Ham Jus, Pearl Onion, Black Truffle

Keegan Filion Chicken

Foie Gras Stuffing, Brussels Sprout, Mushroom, Chestnut Veloute

Third

Dark Chocolate Tourchon

Butternut Squash, Pine Nut, Bonfire Toffee

Prosecco Poached Pear

Elderflower, Gingered Baba, Sparkling Gelee

Saffron Panna Cotta

Blood Orange, Cardamom, Local Honey

Call 534-2155 to inquire or to make reservations.

Activities for the twentieth annual World AIDS Day (WAD) will take place at various locations in Charleston on Monday, December 1. The events will honor those affected by AIDS but also serve as an educational resource for prevention and awareness. All events and activities are free and open to the public.

This year’s events are a collaborative effort of various organizations and groups, including: Lowcountry AIDS Services, Trident Tech, College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina, It’s Up to Me—The Citadel, Region 7 Health Department (DHEC) and Roper/Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital.

The following events are planned for World AIDS Day (December 1):

• AIDS quilt panels will be on display from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Roper Hospital (316 Calhoun Street) and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital (2095 Henry Tecklenburg Drive, West Ashley). Ann Caldwell and the Magnolia Singers will perform in the Roper lobby at 11 a.m. and in the Bon Secours St. Francis lobby at noon.

• Free HIV Testing by Lowcountry AIDS Services at Palmer Campus of Trident Tech (66 Columbus Street) from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• AIDS Vigil and March begins at 5:30 p.m. in Marion Square. The group will march to College of Charleston Stern Center Garden via Calhoun Street to St. Phillips Street. Mayor Riley and Mayor Summey will each read a proclamation, and Carolyn Murray will serve as the MC. The College of Charleston gospel choir will also be performing.

• Free HIV Testing by Region 7 Health Department (DHEC) in Marion Square Region from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Mark Gray at 843.747.2273 or tenebo@aol.com.

Tristan will be serving a special Thanksgiving menu from 11:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. For your tryptophan fix, Chef Deal created a Keegan Filion Farms Turkey dish with Foie Gras Stuffing, Fall Mushroom, Brussels Sprout, Butternut Squash and Turkey Ju. Finish off your meal with a Pumpkin Creme Brulee! Check out the Thanksgiving menu.

Tristan will be serving lunch Christmas Eve from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and will be closed for dinner. The restaurant will also be closed Christmas Day.

Ring in the New Year with Tristan and enjoy a three-course meal with champagne toast at midnight. Each course features several choices and guests can choose 1 item from each course. Seatings are available at 7, 8, 9 and 10 p.m. A Touch of Class will be playing jazz/funk originals and covers beginning at 8 p.m. View the New Year’s Eve menu.

Tristan will be Charleston’s unofficial “Election HQ” on Tuesday, November 4th from 5 p.m. to close. Tristan will have various food and drink specials:

• A special appetizer selection paired with a Classic Brandy Sidecar for $16
• Guests sporting an “I Voted” sticker will receive a complimentary glass of bubbly
• During the month of November, they will offer a complimentary dessert to any guest who presents a voters registration card. (Does not apply to group reservations made before October 1.)
• Chef Aaron Deal is also creating a prix fixe, three-course menu priced $55 (plus tax and gratuity) and reservations can be made by calling 843.534.2155 or clicking here. The menu will include:

~Blue Point Oysters served with a Foie Gras Vinaigrette, Apple Basil Granite and Olive Oil Crisp
~Filet Mignon will be complemented by Fingerling Potato, Heirloom Baby Carrot, Pearl Onion and a Cabernet Jus
~Toasted Hazelnut Souffle enhanced with a Frangelico Mousseline and Espresso Anglaise

The South Carolina Stingrays will play the Augusta Lynx at their season opener on Saturday, October 18. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.

The game launches the first of a series of new Kids Carnivals, a free family event that offers jump castles, games and more. The first Kids Carnival will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum. The remaining carnivals are planned before every Sunday home game.

In response to fan requests, the Stingrays are also launching Two Dollar Beers All Year, a program that offers $2 Bud Light drafts until the end of the first period. For more information, visit www.2dollarbeerallyear.com <http://www.2dollarbeerallyear.com/> .

Ticket prices range from $14-19 and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or the North Charleston Coliseum box office.