PAWLEYS ISLAND SC (WBTW) — When you go out for a night out, what’s most important? To eat? To drink? To celebrate? If it’s all three, you’re in luck. Local Eat Drink Celebrate is a long name for a restaurant, but these words weren’t just thrown together.

“So the name is Local, Eat, Drink, Celebrate because this massive building that we have has got so many different identities,” owner John Dabrowski said. “We have an 18-and-older dining room, which is our ‘Drink’ and our ‘Drink taproom’. We have ‘Celebrate,’ which is our banquet facility. And we have our ‘Eat,’ which is our family-friendly dining room.”

But according to Dabrowski, the first part of their name means the most.

“Well, the ‘Local’ is more about, you know, where we’re from,” Dabrowski said. “It’s how we were made to feel when we first moved into town. The locals here in Pawleys Island are pretty special, and we try to give that feeling to everybody that walks through the door.”

Local, Eat, Drink, Celebrate opened in the Hammock Shops Village three years ago, and John and his wife have been here almost every day since.

“We opened in August of 2020. The best time ever to open a restaurant,” Dabrowski said. “I work every day we’re open. When the door’s open, I’m here.”

John is in charge of the kitchen, and his wife, Peta, does the banquets. They work closely together but not too close.

“We try to keep our distance in our building as much possible because, you know, it’s definitely fun to work with your spouse, but it’s very rewarding because everybody loves Peta,” Dabrowski said. “You can say Peta Dabrowski anywhere on the Grand Strand and someone’s going to say, ‘Yes, we know her. We love her.’ People love her and tolerate me. So it’s a symbiotic relationship.”

The food is fancy yet affordable. The atmosphere is unique yet comfortable. And local or not, everyone’s welcome. But…

“We did find we have to give people more than a reason just to come eat,” Dabrowski said. “We’ve got to push a little harder. We’ve got to host the trivia. So we give people more than just, with Oktoberfest last week, more than just your normal reason to come out, something different to do.”

Like celebrate. John and Peta are. They’re excited about where things are going.

“I think we’ve been pretty successful for our first three years in business, and I think we’re going in the right direction.”

John mentioned that the ‘Drink’ section of the restaurant was for adults only. But don’t worry, there’s nothing adult going on, it’s just they often have live music, and kids, or as he calls them, screamers, tend to be a bit loud.

Local, Eat, Drink, Celebrate is in the Hammock Shops Village in Pawleys Island.