Charleston Living Magazine May-June 2023
Feeling hungry? We highlight our top picks for the ten best burgers in Charleston. We also showcase the annual Piccolo Spoleto event, with excellent shows during the two weeks. We highlight some of the top retirement communities and facilities as well, along with local artwalks.
Feeling hungry? We highlight our top picks for the ten best burgers in Charleston. We also showcase the annual Piccolo Spoleto event, with excellent shows during the two weeks. We highlight some of the top retirement communities and facilities as well, along with local artwalks.
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BUZZ | SOUTHERN DRAWL<br />
Food for Fans<br />
RiverDogs food & beverage director melds his two favorite passions<br />
By FRITZ ESKER<br />
Ballpark favorites during<br />
gameday at the Segura Club<br />
at Riley Park.<br />
When the <strong>Charleston</strong> RiverDogs’ vice president of food and beverage operations Josh Shea<br />
was growing up in Abbeville, SC, he enjoyed hanging around the kitchen while his mother and<br />
grandmother cooked. His mother, a teacher, expected good grades from him at school. If young Josh<br />
made his grades, he would get a reward after each report card. When he was thirteen years old, he<br />
told his mom if he got all A’s on his next report card, he wanted to cook the family a three-course<br />
meal. He made the grades, and a career in the food and beverage industry was born.<br />
For an appetizer, Shea made egg drop soup<br />
and crab rangoon. The main course was<br />
chicken teriyaki lo mein, and the dessert<br />
course was cheesecake egg rolls with raspberry<br />
sauce. Shea said the meal went mostly<br />
well for a first try.<br />
After attending Clemson University<br />
and the Culinary Institute of <strong>Charleston</strong>,<br />
Shea gained experience in the food and<br />
beverage industry by working as the catering<br />
chef at Tidewater Catering on James Island,<br />
as well as a personal chef in <strong>Charleston</strong>. In<br />
2013, he joined the RiverDogs, <strong>Charleston</strong>’s<br />
minor league baseball team, as a food and<br />
beverage director.<br />
The position was a good fit for Shea<br />
because it allowed him to merge his passion<br />
for cooking with another one of his passions:<br />
baseball.<br />
He played tee ball and baseball throughout<br />
his childhood, sometimes with his dad<br />
as a coach and sometimes winning league<br />
championships. He knew he didn’t have the<br />
stuff to make it at the college or pro level, but<br />
he was pleased when the opportunity to work<br />
for a baseball team arose. In 2019, he became<br />
the club’s vice president of food and beverage<br />
operations.<br />
Shea loves hearing suggestions and<br />
feedback from season ticket holders when<br />
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS<br />
34 | <strong>Charleston</strong><strong>Living</strong>Mag.com
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