Owner Weems Pennington's menu pulls in local cooks off late-night shifts
Reynolds Avenue keeps its own hours. North Chuck’s old industrial spine used to empty out by six, but Park Circle spillover has pushed it into a second shift. Bar Weems landed there in early December, staking a claim on the emerging stretch off Spruill. Owner Weems Pennington worked in the kitchen at Jack of Cups during college and later brewed beer at Edmund’s Oast, before teaching himself the art of ramen during the pandemic. He spent five years popping up in restaurant kitchens, including Estadio and Sweatman’s Garden, before putting a roof over the operation. Pennington built the place without a hospitality group’s checkbook, and his late-night service pulls local cooks through the door after their own closing shifts.
The menu reflects his trip through Japan last year and dishes he continues refining locally. His four ramen bowls earn their keep: alchemical broths, noodles made by hand each day, and a variety of toppings that show the same level of care. A rich miso bowl layers chicken paitan, pork shoulder chashu, shimeji mushrooms, marinated egg, and a velvety broth over noodles with perfect, almost imperceptible chew.
The snacks hit just as hard. Karaage chicken comes dusted in “snow cheese”—a fine powder of dried Parmesan, cheddar, and salted sugar—or the incendiary “evil” version; the winning move is ordering a combination of both. Ikura rice is a “DIY hand roll situation,” plating warm sushi rice and a shoyu-cured egg yolk under cold, glassy salmon roe. Crisp nori and a dab of wasabi let diners build bites that cram temperature, texture, and saline umami into a single bite.
Cocktails read like your hip cousin’s indie record collection, and the layered ingredients match the curatorial bent. Heaven is Humming stirs charcoal and strawberry-washed whiskey with Averna, Dolin Blanc, milk, Szechuan peppercorn, and floral bitters, finished off with a dusting of strawberry powder. With one sip, it’s evident Pennington’s acumen extends beyond bone broth and fried chicken.
Snacks run until 12:30 a.m., last call hits at 1, and local artists rotate across the walls. North Chuck is the New Chuck, slipping past the guidebooks and off the peninsula, where a self-taught chef, without pretense or white tablecloths, is serving one of the city’s most compelling bowls of ramen.
1921 Reynolds Ave., North Charleston
(854) 202-1175, www.barweems.com
Wednesday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-1 a.m.
