SC has one of the 25 hot and new woman-owned restaurants for 2024, Yelp says. Here’s why
A farm-to-table restaurant in Clover, South Carolina, has been named to Yelp’s list of top 25 hot and new women-owned restaurants to visit in 2024.
Clover Harvest opened in May 2023 in what was a liquor store in the 1950s, when many communities in northern South Carolina were dry.
Alison Kim and her partner John Paoloca moved to the area from Philadelphia when Paoloca was transferred by American Airlines to work in the Admiral Club at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, about 30 miles northeast of Clover.
They started looking at smaller towns and stumbled on Clover and a house they liked while still working in Charlotte. She has a marketing and sales background.
It took some months before Paoloca agreed he, too, was ready for their own restaurant, Kim said. The property Kim wanted was still available.
Kim’s mother, Jean, is also an investor in what became Clover Harvest.
Their goal is to use as many locally grown ingredients, including some from their own garden, as possible.
Executive chef Lynsey Comalander said she offers a daily special, which has brought in new customers to try dishes they’ve never had.
Comalander, a Clover native, worked for more than four years as a flight attendant and made it a point when she traveled to visit a variety of restaurants. A dish she made recently was her take on one she had in Puerto Rico and it was a big hit, she said.
She also runs a food truck in Clover called It’s Worth It, featuring tacos, paninis and potato cakes.
On its website, the restaurant says, “Clover Harvest offers a relaxed setting where laughter flows as freely as the conversation. Come as you are, and leave with a satisfied heart, a full stomach, and a smile.”
Kim said community is key, especially, giving back. They welcome students with special needs to learn job skills. They are going to partner with Clover High’s culinary arts school.
Any food they don’t use from their garden is given to a community organization and at the end of each night, leftover food is donated to the community fridge in downtown Clover.
Clover Harvest also partners with Rideability, a therapeutic horseback riding center for children and adults with disabilities as well as the many farms nearby.
“We are so grateful to be in this community,” Kim said.
