5 Questions With: Alan Wolf, President of SERG Group, and Chef Chris Carge, Executive Chef & SERG Group Partner

SERG Restaurant Group is one of the Lowcountry's largest employers, and operates 17 locations across Bluffton and Hilton Head Island. The Chamber sat down with their President Alan Wolf and Chef Chris Carge to talk about its newest restaurant, how they attract and retain their workforce, the culinary spotlight on the Lowcountry, and more.?

Check out the highlights from the conversation below. For the full one, download and subscribe to the Chamber Channel wherever you get your podcast, or click here to listen.

Bill Miles: We just celebrated the ribbon cutting at the second Nectar location in Bluffton. Tell us about this menu and what makes it different from other SERG restaurants??

Alan Wolf: Myself and my cohorts at the front of the house weren’t allowed to weigh in on the menu. We had four chefs who did that menu from scratch and… we just kept our mouths shut and let the chefs do the work. What came out was an incredible effort in driving our company forward from a culinary standpoint.??

Chef Chris Carge: Chefs like to play with food, that’s the bottom line. And we didn’t want to get too pretentious with super high-end food. We wanted to create a neighborhood place where people can come for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and really focus on the vendors we’ve been meeting over the years and keeping our local economy going and strong.?

BM: What are some things that you think have been getting the Lowcountry recognized as a culinary destination??

AW: I’ve been really impressed with how that chamber has engaged with writers and influencers who want to come to the destination and shed light on what we are doing on the local level. We were light years behind Asheville and Charletson, now we are right there with them in terms of notariarty. We had three SERG chefs go up to the James Beard House (in 2018), and the chamber was instrumental in that effort.?

CC: People are interested now in where their food is coming from and what’s in it. A lot of local people are buying and supporting local, and just making the food all around better in itself.?

BM: Looking at 2022, what are some of the challenges in the restaurant industry?

AW: I think the biggest thing that we are keeping an eye on is our workforce. It’s a competitive industry. There’s a lot of restaurants, there’s a lot of businesses in the hospitality industry. Hilton Head has always been head and shoulders above our competitors on the eastern coast, and that’s helped us attract people for management and hourly positions.?

BM: How are you recruiting and retaining that talent?

CC: We look for the people who are doing their jobs well, who want to learn, and want to grow with the company.?

AW: We have 17 restaurants. The main thing is the partners…we have 34 partners across the company so when we find the really special manager and leaders who want to grow, we look for ways to tie them to the business. We continue to look at benefits, but we are also rolling out a Team Serg Rewards program where for every hour they work, they earn points towards rewards like gift cards, concert tickets, hotels, and other things. We also want to recognize those who are doing things right.?

BM: SERG Group has always been one to step up for the community, and one of the latest initiatives you’ve stepped up for is the Culinary Institute Of The South. Why did you take a leadership role in this effort?

AW: With the SERG Group, we have a responsibility as a group of leaders to support every effort to increase the workforce through the levers that include housing, benefits, and certainly education. And what the (Technical College of the Lowcountry) has developed there is truly a masterpiece for years to come in terms of developing culinary talent here.?