2023’s 23 Best Places to Work

In recent years, what motivates people to work has shifted. Hourly workers, in particular, are seeking greater flexibility in their schedules, better compensation for their work, and improved work-life balance. 

Finding a workplace that checks all of these boxes isn’t always easy. Fortunately, our Shifters have provided invaluable feedback on their shift experiences, allowing us to curate a list that recognizes 2023’s 23 Best Places to Work.

Let’s check out our winners!

Barbecue

Home Team BBQ

Home Team BBQ first opened in Charleston’s West Ashley area in 2006. Since then, the restaurant has opened an additional six locations: Columbia, downtown Charleston, Greenville, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, as well as Aspen, Colorado.

Home Team aims to create a “fusion of fundamentals and traditional processes” with slow-cooked meats and Southern comfort food. 

Catering

Hamby Catering

Hamby Catering first came to be in 1979 as husband and wife, Fran and Tom Hamby, helped plan the wedding of a close friend’s daughter. The buzz their wedding menu garnered led to the start of Hamby Catering, a family-owned full-service catering business serving the Lowcountry.

From weddings to private parties to corporate celebrations and everything in between, Hamby prides itself on excellent service while staying true to its Lowcountry roots.

Country Club

Carolina Yacht Club

Established in 1883, Carolina Yacht Club is a private, members-only sailing and social club. The Club was originally founded by a group of young men who wanted to share their interests in saling and yacht racing.

The Club sits on the Cooper River waterfront in downtown Charleston and provides its members with access to ballroom and reception facilities, dining facilities, floating docks, a boat ramp, and boat hoists.

Carolina Yacht Club is a member of both US Sailing and the South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association.

Dunes Golf & Beach Club

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club is a semi-private, members-owned Club located along Myrtle Beach’s oceanfront. 

The Club offers its members the only golf course in Myrtle Beach with ocean views and has consistently been ranked as a “Top 100 Golf Course” across a number of publications.

Dunes Club members have access to an oceanfront pool, two dining facilities, an oceanfront bar, and a diverse offering of social events.

Brays Island Plantation

Located between Charleston, Savannah, and Beaufort, Brays Island Plantation is widely regarded as one of the nation’s premier sporting communities.

Nestled along the Port Royal Sound, Brays Island spans across more than 5,000 acres of land and boasts impressive sporting opportunities. Brays Island offers hunting, shooting, and equestrian facilities in addition to a championship 18-hole golf course, multiple saltwater ponds, and direct access to the Atlantic Ocean.

Additionally, Brays Island offers an Inn and full-service restaurant.

Event Company

Spike by Snyder

Part of the Snyder Events umbrella, Spike by Snyder is Charleston’s largest bar service company.

Spike provides preset and customizable bar packages which include a bartender, alcohol, mixers, ice, garnishes, plasticware, bar linens, and support from Snyder when you need it. 

The company also offers casino table rentals for those who are looking to bring a little bit of Las Vegas to their event.

EPI Events 

Event Partners Inc. (EPI) Events is a crowd management and event execution company that got its start at Clemson University in 2005. 

Serving as the paid parking staff at the Littlejohn Coliseum at Clemson University, EPI has since grown to serve several cities throughout South Carolina.

EPI Events’ services include consulting, event logistics and emergency plan services, crowd management, parking management, ticket taking, box office services, ushering, guest services, ID checking, VIP/personnel escorts. 

The business primarily serves colleges and universities, stadiums and arenas, professional teams, auditoriums, special events, local municipalities, and outdoor venues.

CB Events

CB Events is a full-service event production and design house. While based in Greenville, South Carolina, CB Events also caters to a number of destination event needs. 

Since its founding in 2009, the business has produced over 1,000 events – 103 of those being charity events which have raised over 4.5 million dollars for charity.

CB Events has experience working large festivals such as the Charleston Wine and Food Festival and the Holy Smoke BBQ Festival. Some of its notable clients include Michelin, BMW, Purina, GE, Colgate-Palmolive, and more. CB Events’ services include event production, event management, and event design.

Deli

East Bay Deli

A self-described New York-style deli with a southern twist, East Bay Deli has 11 locations throughout South Carolina.

From breakfast to soups to desserts to your classic deli spreads, East Bay Deli’s extensive menu has something for everyone at any time of day. In addition to its counter service, the deli offers catering at 10 of its 11 locations. 

East Bay Deli can be found in downtown Charleston, North Charleston (two locations) West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Columbia (three locations), Irmo, and Cayce.

Event Venue

Charleston RiverDogs

The Charleston RiverDogs is Charleston’s single-A minor league baseball team. 

The RiverDogs provide baseball fans and spectators with a fun, exciting atmosphere throughout their homestead – Joseph P. Riley Park. Most recently, the team claimed its third consecutive Carolina League Championship.

Added to the ballpark in 2017, the Segra Club is a private event space that’s available for corporate and networking events, social gatherings, weddings, and gameday events. 

The Gaillard Center

The Gaillard Center is a staple in the Southeastern performing arts community as it presents multidisciplinary cultural programming and provides access to renowned local, national, and global artists and companies.

Located in downtown Charleston, the Gaillard Center includes a 1,818 seat performance hall as well as a 16,000 square-foot exhibition hall which hosts artistic, community, and corporate events. 

The Wonderer

Situated in downtown Charleston, The Wonderer was designed to consolidate the majority of its members’ daily needs into one space. 

The space provides both indoor and outdoor areas that are dedicated to work, social, fitness, or wellness needs. The Wonderer offers its members a host of amenities, including dedicated concierge services, an active social events calendar, full-service restaurant, a junior olympic swimming pool, guided meditation, rentable conference rooms, and more. 

The Wonderer is on a mission to create a new community of thought leaders who are focused on improving their quality of life by prioritizing things like purpose, balance, and social connection.

Hewitt Oaks

Located in Bluffton, South Carolina, Hewitt Oaks is an all-season, full-service wedding and event venue. 

The property is easily accessible from downtown Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and Savannah. Hewitt Oaks offers several event settings with both indoor and outdoor accommodations, including the Angel Oak Canopy, Gracie Ballroom, Riders Courtyard, the Swooning Tree, the Promise tree, Connaughton Cottage, Huling Hall, Cardinal Courtyard, and the Meadow.

Festival

Charleston Wine & Food Festival

The Charleston Wine and Food Festival is an annual festival that takes place the first weekend in March. 

The festival consists of in-restaurant brunches, lunches, and dinners, cooking classes, beverage workshops, educational outings, and a large sampling experience at Riverfront Park.

Each year, the festival makes a significant economic impact that is more than four times the annual budget of Charleston Wine and Food.

Fine Dining

Circa 1886

Circa 1886 is fine dining at its finest. Located within the Wentworth Mansion in downtown Charleston, Circa 1886 offers guests a top-notch dining experience that pulls inspiration from its Lowcountry surroundings. 

Circa 1886 has received a host of accolades, most recently being named the number one “Most Romantic Restaurant in South Carolina” by Yelp, the number three “Best Date Night Restaurant in the U.S.” by Tripadvisor, and the number ten “Best Fine Dining Restaurant in the U.S.” by Tripadvisor.

Halls Chophouse

Halls Chophouse is a family-owned Charleston institution that has expanded its American fine dining experience to Nexton, Columbia, Greenville, and Nashville. 

Founded by the Hall family in 2009, Halls Chophouse serves the finest steaks, offering diners filet mignon, dry-aged, New York strip, ribeye, and porterhouse steaks from Allen Brothers in Chicago, IL.

Tripadvisor ranked Halls Chophouse third in the U.S. under the Fine Dining category in its 2023 Traveler’s Choice Best of the Best Awards. 

Saltus River Grill

Located on Beaufort’s waterfront, Saltus River Grill combines Lowcountry staples with locally sourced ingredients. 

Established by the same owner of another Beaufort staple, Plums, Saltus provides an elevated dining experience with unparalleled service.

Food Production

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit

Founded in 2005 by Carrie Morey as an ode to her mother, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit has become a widely recognized, iconic Southern brand with a national retail presence.

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit’s production bakery accommodates online, retail, and wholesale orders while servicing four Hot Little Biscuit eateries and its Food Truck.

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit has been recognized by Food & Wine, The New York Times, Southern Living, and more.

Hotel

Tides Folly Beach

Tides Folly Beach, part of Avocet Hospitality Group, is an oceanfront hotel that provides easy access to a number of activities including surfing, fishing, kayaking, boating, and more.

Within the hotel, guests can dine at the Blu Beach Bar and Grill or grab a quick coffee and breakfast bite at Roasted Marketplace.

Tides has three private event spaces available for rent and can accommodate beachfront weddings for up to 200 guests.

Seafood

Charleston Crab House

Charleston Crab House has been family-owned and operated for more than 27 years. With three locations throughout Charleston - downtown, Shem Creek, and James Island - Charleston Crab House offers up all of your seafood favorites. 

Its Shem Creek and James Island locations provide calming waterfront views while its downtown location puts you in the heart of downtown Charleston overlooking the historic City Market.

West Ashley Crab Shack

The West Ashley Crab Shack is one of three tri-county locations, with Crab Shacks also located in Coosaw Creek and Folly Beach.

Locally owned and operated for two decades, the Crab Shack provides a casual coastal atmosphere and fresh seafood.

Diners can find she crab soup, Carolina crab cakes, blue crab dip and more at the West Ashley Crab Shack.

Sports Bar

Kickin’ Chicken

Started by Charleston locals, Chip Roberts and Bobby Perry, Kickin’ Chicken is a sports bar with an extensive menu of chicken-focused plates. From chicken and waffles to nuggets, wings and tenders, to chicken wraps, and everything in between – if you’re in the mood for some good chicken, you can find it here.

Although the restaurant’s first order was a delivery, it has now grown to six brick-and-mortar locations throughout the Charleston area. 

Waterfront Dining

Saltwater Cowboys

Located on Shem Creek, Saltwater Cowboys is a Charleston staple. In addition to its mouthwatering selection of BBQ favorites, Saltwater Cowboys has an extensive menu of seafood, bar food favorites, and frozen cocktails.

Every weekend, guests can enjoy live music creekside while taking in Shem Creek’s stunning sunset views.

Cheers to a Great Year!

shiftNOW is grateful not only for the Shifters on our platform who do great work but also for the businesses who provide a working environment that our Shifters enjoy.

We appreciate the commitment these businesses have shown to providing a high-quality shift experience for our Shifters in 2023 and we look forward to continued collaboration in the New Year.

Happy New Year! Here’s to an even better 2024!

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