• HOME
  • BEST OF PARTY PHOTOS
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
        • Articles
    • Around Town
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Dwellings
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
    • Sports & Fitness
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • DIRECTORIES
    • Attorney Directory
    • 2025 Charleston Wedding Venues
    • Pool Builders/Services Directory
    • Financial Planners
    • Mount Pleasant Area Hotel Directory
    • East Cooper Worship Guide
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Senior Living Directory
    • 2023 Local CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine is the premier lifestyle magazine for Mount Pleasant, SC. Read about local news, events, businesses, people, and more. Subscribe today or read our digital magazine online.

  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • 2025 Best of Mount Pleasant Including Previous Years
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Winner Articles
    • Best Of Party Photos
  • Podcasts
    • Mount Pleasant Podcast
    • Carolina Real Estate Podcast
    • Georgetown the Podcast
    • Coastal Home Podcast Video Tour
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Podcast
    • Hammock Coast Podcast
    • More Podcasts
      • Charleston Women Podcast
      • Isle of Palms Podcast
      • Charleston Pet Podcast
      • Charleston Wedding Podcast
  • Top Ten Homes Sold
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • About Our Team
  • MORE
    • Real Estate Experts
    • MP Town Hall
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Contact

Nice Ride! Charleston Cars & Coffee

Posted by MPM Leave a Comment

Charleston Cars & Coffee image
There’s a popular club in Mount Pleasant that meets weekly, regularly attracts more than 100 people – mostly men – to its gatherings but has no admission requirements, no membership rolls, no dues and, pretty much, no rules. Everyone is wel-come to join just by driving to Towne Centre and parking in the lot right in front of Atlanta Bread any Saturday between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

The attraction, according to its Facebook page, is automobiles “foreign,domestic, old, new, clean or dirty.”

Welcome to Charleston Cars & Coffee, one of a host of similar gatherings nationwide but very likely the only one that convenes weekly – rain, shine or 100-degree weather – all year round.

The coffee element isn’t mandatory. Some participants bring their own java, and there’s always plenty more available inside Atlanta Bread. The key word, not surprisingly, is “cars.”

On any given weekend, more than 100 automobiles fill every parking space in the lot and overflow into adjacent spaces. Almost universally, those vehicles are unlike any others seen daily on the Lowcountry’s highways and byways.

Charleston Cars & Coffee. More cards

There are Ferraris and Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins, classic MGs, Jags and Triumphs, vintage pickups, tricked out motorcycles and plenty more.

There’s no racing and no judging, just the opportunity to showcase everyone’s favorite car and give others a chance to admire it, ask questions about it and maybe even sit in the driver’s seat and imagine what it would be like to take it out on the road or track.

Charleston Cars & Coffee got its start not long after Hurricane Hugo, meeting for several years at various locations in the Old Village. About five years ago, a handful of the car faithful struck a deal to hold their regular meetings at their current location, and car buffs from as far away as Myrtle Beach and Beaufort began showing up to show off their prized possessions.

One of those founding members is Don Curtis, who lives in Brickyard and drives a Porsche Carrera. Charleston Cars & Coffee continues to grow, he admitted, but added that “It’s not about the numbers. We don’t have any goals.

We’re a niche community of interest. We’re a ‘multimarque’ gathering, so we’ve seen everything here: Model Ts, Model As, vintage Packards, McLarens, Vipers, Hummers, half-million-dollar street hot rods – you name it. About the only exotic car we haven’t had yet is a Bugatti.

“The Porsche Club has staged their cruises here, and the British Car Club has more or less adopted this as their meeting spot as well.”

Of course, not everyone has an Isotta Fraschini in their two-car garage, so you’re just as likely to see a Jeep Cherokee or a Hyundai Sonata parked next to a “Bug Eye” Sprite or a classic 1960s Toyota Land Cruiser looking as if it’s ready for a race through the streets of Tokyo in pursuit of Godzilla.

Jim D’Damery of Darrell Creek, who works as safety director at Wando Trucking Company, arrived one Saturday in a pedestrian silver SUV. A diehard Corvette fancier, he explained that his regular ride was having electrical problems, so he drove his backup vehicle so he wouldn’t miss the meet.

“My Vette wouldn’t start this morning, so I just jumped in my truck and came anyway. No one even noticed. What’s important to me, and, I think, to everyone who attends, isn’t so much the showing off of fancy cars but the camaraderie. We may come from all walks of life, but our common bond is our love of cars.”

Charleston Cars & Coffee’s unofficial photographer, Lane Anderson of Dunes West, echoed that sentiment.

“Most of us aren’t mainstream sports fans. In South Carolina, you can run into a hard-core football fan just about anywhere. But when you start talking about cars, most people go blank. With the people at our Saturday meets, you can sit around and talk cars forever!”

On this Saturday, he left his BMW 128i at home and arrived in his Beck Speedster, a 2006 factory-built recreation of a 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster that’s guaranteed to have any classic car buff salivating.

Parked nearby Anderson’s Speedster was another vehicle that always attracts lots of attention – a fire-engine red 1939 Ford known as “The Bootlegger.” Owned by Bob Demschick of Mount Pleasant, this meticulously customized street rod comes complete with a whiskey barrel – which Dan swore is nonfunctional – built into its trunk.

Demschick said that when he has shown “The Bootlegger” up North, it’s always gotten its fair share of attention.

“But, down here, folks really crowd around for a close look, and they love it. After all, just about everyone living here seems to know someone or is related to someone who’s run moonshine!”

And Dan Whitton, a lifelong car guy who runs Whitton Marine, Inc. on Clements Ferry Road and calls the Corvette “the backbone of the entire General Motors empire,” noted that all of the attendees at Charleston Cars & Coffee have at least two things in common: “They are car guys. And they are not golfers. Cars are their hobby.”

So, if T-tops are more important to you than tee times, make it a point to motor on over to Towne Centre any Saturday. You won’t be disappointed, And, except for your coffee, it’s all free.

By Bill Farley
Photos by Lane Anderson

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

Bohemian Bull Tavern and Beer Garden of Mount Pleasant, SCBohemian Bull: Bucking Good Time A line of people passing along oysters for an artificial reef.Clustered With Care: Reef Constructed From Recycled Oyster Shells Brooke Jackson Kahn in civvies.War at Home Female Veteran Honored for Combating PTSD

Filed Under: To Do

Advertisement

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search The Site

We're on Facebook We're on X (formerly Twitter) Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
Ad: South Carolina Federal Credit Union, enjoy life banking on the best.
Ad: Visit Woof Gang today!
Mount Pleasant Magazine Sep/Oct 2023 magazine coverREAD DIGITALLY
Read the digital magazine
now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.
Ad: Premier Health and Wellness in Mount Pleasant, SC. Let’s Redesign Your Health & Wellness.
Read about the History of the Bridge Run
Visit Palmetto Christian Academy.org
Ad: 1st Choice AC, Heating, Plumbing and Gas, for the best AC Service for your home in Mount Pleasant, SC.
Pleasant Family Dentistry in Mount Pleasant, SC. Experience the BEST, and find out why we've been awarded 7 times in the BEST of MOUNT PLEASANT!
Ad: Visit Front Beach IOP and SHOP, DINE and DRINK in the SUNSHINE.
Ad: Get Carried Away - Real Food, Real Southern, Really Good!
Click for Stores & Services
on Coleman Boulevard
Coleman Blvd Merchant Alliance
Best of Mount Pleasant logo is a registered trademark
Ad: Every Day is a Good Dog Day at Michael's Barkery

Most Recent Posts

Georgetown, SC Rising: A Look at the City’s Dramatic Growth & Downtown Revival

Join host Scott Richards and Main Street Director Al Joseph for an insightful look into the remarkable transformation sweeping across Georgetown, SC. This video dives deep into the revitalization of … Continue Reading

The Rotary’s Biggest Splash: 2025 Charleston Duck Race in the Wando!

The Charleston Duck Race is back on the Wando River! Tune in as Evan Murray, the 'Head Duck' Fundraising Chair, joins host Brian Cleary to reveal all the details about this highly anticipated … Continue Reading

Paved with Passion: Morales Pavers

Morales Pavers started with a simple mission: to transform outdoor spaces and convert them into something people could truly enjoy. But what makes this family-owned business stand out isn’t just the … Continue Reading

Front Street Georgetown

Opening Batch: Georgetown Crafts First Brewery

A craft beer fan and teacher from Cincinnati, Chase Runyan started brewing in his house by tinkering with kits and learning how to bottle the beer after fermentation. After making five or six batches … Continue Reading

Revolutionized: Georgetown’s Downtown Makeover

When the port city of Georgetown was laid out in 1729, merchant-oriented businesses and homes lined the land side of Front Street, originally called Bay Street, overlooking the sparkling Sampit River, … Continue Reading

Gold Standard: Georgetown’s Own Crowned Olympic Champion

When 23-year-old Nike athlete and Georgetown native Melissa Jefferson arrived at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, she was determined to secure her … Continue Reading

More Front Street Georgetown

SEARCH

Get Our Free Newsletter!
Mount Pleasant Apartments
Pleasant Family Dentistry
Water's Edge Dentistry
34 Waterway Island Drive

Copyright © 2025 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy

▲