A curved sushi counter now fills a brick building on Cannon Street that once served as Charleston's YMCA, and diners sitting at it can watch chefs roll fish and rice into crisp sheets of nori before the hand rolls are passed straight to their hands. That's the scene at KYN, a new Japanese-inspired hand-roll and cocktail bar from chefs Tae Woo Lee and Peter Marcus, now open at 61 Cannon Street in downtown Charleston.
KYN serves hand rolls, sashimi, crudos and more, according to The Post and Courier, which reports that Lee and Marcus are the duo behind the new restaurant. The paper notes the building once housed a YMCA established in 1866, giving the restaurant's brick walls a history that predates sushi's arrival in Charleston by more than a century. At the restaurant's centerpiece counter, guests watch as fish and rice are rolled into sheets of crisp nori to make the restaurant's signature hand rolls, each of which is gluten-free, per the same report.
The menu leans on seafood sourced locally and from fisheries around the world, according to WCBD/Count on 2. KYN's general manager told the station that the restaurant wants to introduce Charleston diners to a hand-roll bar format that has become popular in cities such as New York and Los Angeles, framing the concept as a fresh import rather than a copy of existing local sushi spots.
Cocktails Built Around a Frozen Lychee Martini
The bar program pairs with the raw-fish menu rather than competing with it. The Post and Courier describes drinks ranging from the frozen lychee martini to the refreshingly smoky Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, made with tequila and mezcal. The combination of a chef-facing hand-roll counter and a cocktail list built for sipping alongside crudo is part of what's drawing early comparisons from local diners.
A review from Cooter Soup CHS put it bluntly: the vibe reminds me of the original Momofuku Ssam Bar or Mission Cantina, the writer said. It's a comparison that captures the unpretentious, high-energy room Lee and Marcus appear to be going for, even as the restaurant occupies a building with roots in 19th-century Charleston.
A Rooftop Still Taking Shape
Not everything at KYN is finished. The rooftop space is being further developed, Count on 2 reported, meaning the eventual rooftop lounge is still a work in progress rather than a completed feature of the restaurant. The station also noted that KYN is open for lunch and dinner, with reservations available online.
Reported hours for the new spot differ depending on the source. The Post and Courier states that Kyn is open from noon-4 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. daily, splitting the day into separate lunch and dinner service windows. A listing on Yelp, by contrast, shows continuous hours of noon to 10 p.m. every day of the week. Diners planning a visit may want to confirm which schedule is currently in effect before heading over.
Part of a Growing Cannon Street Food Scene
KYN's arrival fits into a broader pattern on its block. The Post and Courier describes the restaurant as part of a wave of new and forthcoming dining establishments flocking to the residential street, naming Annie Mae's Bakeshop, Alteño, The Co-Op, Southbound and Sorghum & Salt among the other projects landing nearby. That clustering of openings suggests Cannon Street is becoming one of the more closely watched restaurant corridors in downtown Charleston.
KYN also joins a handful of other recent Japanese-inspired concepts in the Charleston dining scene. Resy has described Katsubō as a restaurant whose food is warm and welcoming, and designed to pair with Japanese-inspired cocktails, beers, sake and wine selections. The same outlet has highlighted Fu-O as a yakiniku spot built around gathering around a table with a smokeless grill installed in the middle so diners can cook their own meats, seafood and vegetables. Together with KYN's hand-roll counter, the openings point to a city increasingly stocked with distinct takes on Japanese dining, from tableside grilling to chef-to-hand rolls served at a marble bar inside a 160-year-old building.
