At the start of this year, the Atrium Building at 840 William Hilton Parkway housed two restaurants. DryDock Seafood & Spirits had served dinner there for 32 years, and Red Stripes Caribbean Cuisine & Lounge served from the same building. The Island Packet reported that both closed in January after tenants received notices to vacate by Feb. 1. The town has since approved plans to reopen the building as an event venue with a takeout counter, and those plans list no restaurant dining room.
The rest of the year followed that same pattern. On the stretch of William Hilton Parkway at Wexford's entrance, the new openings in 2026 were a grab-and-go bagel shop and a reservation bistro in the shopping centers beside the gate. The new waterfront dinner opened on the other side of Broad Creek. The walk-in seafood dinner left the Atrium, and the places that opened this year each took on one piece of it.
What the Atrium is approved to become
PDG Architects submitted plans to turn the Atrium, which sits between the former Stack's Pancakes and Home2 Suites by Hilton, into a facility for SERG Restaurant Group. The first floor would hold offices, a new takeout retail space, a commissary kitchen and a small event room. Upstairs, walls would come down to create two large event spaces separated by a folding wall, together seating up to 360 guests, plus a catering kitchen. The 1987 building would also get what the plans call a "total face lift."
The Town of Hilton Head Island Design Review Board took up the final review on March 11, 2026, as item DRB-000212-2026. The board approved it unanimously with one condition. According to the meeting minutes, outdoor areas tied to the upper level, such as the balcony, "shall not be utilized for commercial recreation purposes." The applicant also has to submit a building section and plan notes showing how those areas will be used.
So the building at the gate is approved as a place to host a rehearsal dinner, a reunion or a company party, with a counter downstairs for food to go. The plans filed with the town lay out the building floor by floor, but they don't name the venue or the takeout concept or give an opening date. Red Stripes continues to serve guests at its Bluffton restaurant.
Breakfast moved into the Village at Wexford
The biggest change to the morning routine came a few doors from the gate. Nosh NY Bagels opened its second location over Memorial Day weekend at 1000 William Hilton Parkway, Suite E1, in the Village at Wexford. The first location is in Ridgeland. CH2 describes breakfast and lunch service, online ordering with a pickup window that skips the line, gluten-free bread, and a popular sandwich called the loxsmith: smoked nova, scallion cream cheese, red onion, cucumber and capers.
Co-owner Jen Penchansky told WhatNow that Hilton Head was the second place she wanted to open after she and her husband, Michael, moved from the North. She said the island's visitor demand for quick breakfast and lunch fit the concept, and she mentioned courtyard tables just outside the takeout shop. Nosh's website lists the Wexford shop as open seven days a week.
The other new morning stop is a few miles up the parkway, and it is much smaller. Barnacle Brews Coffee opened in April inside a renovated 1970s Airstream at 614 William Hilton Parkway. It sits in the food-truck park next to Barnacle Bill's Seafood Market, across from Burke's Beach. The Island Packet reported that Barnacle Bill's owner Greg Berkes and Lile Van Engelen own it together.
Union Proper took the sit-down seat at the Fresh Market Shops
On the other side of the gate, the new reservation restaurant is in the Fresh Market Shops. Union Proper opened this spring at 890 William Hilton Parkway, Suite 74. It comes from the team behind Jane Bistro. CH2 lists beef bourguignon, lemon parmesan chicken pasta, and mussels with frites among its popular dishes. The restaurant also serves cocktails, salads, desserts and a kids' menu at lunch and dinner, with reservations on OpenTable. Union Proper's site is still taking table reservations this fall.
The grocery store anchoring the same center had a short break in August. The Island Packet reported that a fire broke out near The Fresh Market's refrigeration area on the night of Aug. 9, the store closed starting Aug. 10, and it reopened Aug. 19 after cleanup and repairs.
Together, the two centers on either side of the gate now cover the quick morning stop and the planned dinner out. Here's how the gate-side stretch changed over the year:
| Address on William Hilton Parkway | Business | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 840, the Atrium Building | DryDock Seafood & Spirits | Closed after 32 years | Jan. 31, 2026 |
| 840, the Atrium Building | Red Stripes Caribbean Cuisine & Lounge | Closed on Hilton Head; Bluffton location remains | Jan. 17, 2026 |
| 840, the Atrium Building | SERG event venue, takeout counter and commissary | Design Review Board approval with a balcony-use condition | March 11, 2026 |
| 1000, Suite E1, Village at Wexford | Nosh NY Bagels | Second location opened | Memorial Day weekend 2026 |
| 890, Suite 74, Fresh Market Shops | Union Proper | Opened for lunch and dinner | Spring 2026 |
| 890, Fresh Market Shops | The Fresh Market | Closed after an Aug. 9 fire, then reopened | Aug. 10 to Aug. 19, 2026 |
The waterfront dinner crossed Broad Creek
The dinners that left the Atrium, built on seafood and Caribbean food, have new counterparts this year on the north side of Broad Creek, off Marshland Road.
Good Soul Southern Kitchen soft-opened on Juneteenth at 70 Marshland Road, in the space that used to be Mikki's All American Cafe. CH2 reported that the restaurant opened after four years of renovations and preparation. Co-owner Liz Christopher, a Hilton Head native, runs it with James Page and his mother, Vanessa Page. Christopher told CH2 the menu is "based on recipes from different family members and growing up in Gullah culture," Southern soul food with Caribbean influences. Dishes include Boy Fords Beef Short Ribs, Aunt Judy's Fried Chicken, Conch Salad with Bahamian conch, and Aunt Rachel's Seafood Rice. Aunty Betty's 7UP Pound Cake comes out warm. The bar's Aunt Rachel's Rum uses Hilton Head Distillery's Dark Rum. Reservations are taken through the restaurant's site.
The next waterfront opening on that side of the creek is planned for 2027. SERG, the same group behind the Atrium plans, lists Marsh Side Restaurant at Broad Creek Marina with an opening target of late spring or early summer 2027. It describes indoor and outdoor dining, a large covered outdoor bar, activities for kids, and a Lowcountry-inspired menu using ingredients from local farms and waters. That date is the group's current listing and has no announcement date attached, so treat it as a target and not a firm schedule.
So the same restaurant group that is turning the Atrium into a venue for private events is also planning a public waterfront restaurant across the creek. The SERG pages don't say whether the two projects are related, and the 2027 target is the only date either one has.
Still pending at the gate
A few questions will decide what the stretch outside Wexford looks like by next season:
- The Atrium's opening date. The design approval came in March. The plans filed with the town give no name for the venue or the takeout concept, and no opening date.
- The balcony. The approval bars commercial recreation use of the upper-level outdoor areas and requires drawings that show how they will be used, so those plans will determine what the second floor looks like from the parkway.
- Marsh Side's 2027 window. Late spring or early summer 2027 is the date SERG currently lists for Broad Creek Marina.
If you're wondering how the changes along William Hilton Parkway might shape your plans to stay, sell or buy near Wexford, the Lynne Anderson Luxury Team follows this corridor closely and is glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll share what we're seeing at the gate and around Broad Creek.
