►
Description
Mayor John McCann sits down with Andrew Carmines of the famous Hudson's Restaurant on Hilton Head Island, SC.
A
Good
afternoon
we're
at
my
favorite
place
on
Hilton
Head
Island
Hudson's
down
by
the
water.
It
always
reminds
me
of
being
on
vacation.
I
mean
we
live
here.
Yet
we
come
down
here
and
we
look
out
over
the
water
and
say
God.
We
could
be
anywhere
in
the
world,
but
we're
in
Hudson's
down
here
having
lunch
I'm
here
today
with
with
Andrew
Carmine
him
and
his
family
have
owned
the
business
since
1912.
A
B
Well,
I
was
born
into
it,
I
mean
my
folks.
They
bought
the
restaurant
from
the
Hudsonville.
You
know
that
some
of
these
buildings
have
been
here
since
the
like.
You
said
the
teens
19
teens,
and
you
know
the
it
was
an
oyster
packing
facility
going
back
in
the
20s
and
so
the
actually
the
peninsula
that
we're
sitting
on
right
now
the
foundation
is
a
100
oyster
shell
that
was
part
of
the
shucking
operation.
B
The
actual
bank
of
the
creek
is
well
in
front
of
us
here,
but
when
I,
when
my
parents
bought
the
restaurant
in
75
from
the
Hudson
family,
my
dad
always
wanted
to
be
in
the
restaurant
business.
I
came
along
in
78.
In
fact,
my
dad
was
working
in
the
restaurant.
My
mom
was,
we
were
living
in
this
little
house
on
the
hill
here
right
on
the
property,
and
my
mom
called
my
dad
and
said:
I
need
you
to
come
over
here,
the
baby's
coming.
You
need
to
come
and
get
me.
B
We
need
to
go
to
the
hospital,
whether
it
wasn't
a
hospital
on
Hilton
Head
at
the
time.
So
my
dad
got
his
Dodge
pickup
truck,
pulled
up
to
the
house
and
said
jump
in
they.
They
got
all
the
way
to
the
base
of
the
Paris
Island
Bridge
and
my
mom
said
we're
not
going
to
make
it
so.
My
dad
delivered
me
on
the
front
seat
of
the
Dodge
pickup
truck
as
The
Story
Goes.
The
my
mom
tells
it
this
way.
She
says
that
the
police
escort
came.
B
They
rushed
everybody
to
the
hospital
and
my
dad
was
so
freaked
out
that
they
took
my
dad
and
me
into
the
hospital
and
left
my
mom
in
a
wheelchair
in
the
rain.
I.
Don't
know
how
true
that
is,
but
as
I
as
I
get
older,
I
realize
that
what
I
thought
were
embellishments
are
more
more
often
than
not
true.
So,
but
anyway,
my
experience
in
the
restaurant
business
I
started.
It
really
started
as
a
punishment.
For
me,
you
know
I.
If
I
didn't
do
my
homework
or
I
lied
about
doing
my
homework.
B
A
B
B
B
You
know
a
lot
of
times
it's
in
the
middle
of
the
summer,
and
so
it's
95
plus
degrees
on
the
boat
and
you're
out
in
the
sun,
heading
shrimp
and
sorting
through
bycatch,
and
it's
a
tough
job.
My
first
time
going
I
remember
my
appetite
was
not
great,
because
I
was
we
were
rocking
and
rolling
all
the
time
and
it
was
not
enhanced.
B
It
was
actually
the
opposite
of
enhanced
when
the
strikers
on
the
boat
told
me
that
we
were
eating
fried
seagull,
when
it
was
in
fact
fried
chicken
I
thought
that
was
pretty
funny.
Needless
to
say,
I
didn't
eat
much
that
night,
but
yeah.
Some
really
great
experiences
growing
up
and
I
think
it
kind
of
made
me
a
little
bit
more.
Have
a
better
understanding
of
what
I
find
to
be
important
in
the
business
and
and
what
I
see
is
as
valuable.
A
At
this
place,
when
you
look
around
you
come
here
a
lot,
you
see
the
same
people
working
here
yeah,
which
is
a
rarity
today
on
our
Island
yeah,
but
you
have
the
same
crew
they
hear
over
and
over
and
over
and
I
understand.
Even
when
the
Hurricanes
hit,
they
came
back
and
worked
for
you
doing
to
repair
the
place
and
everything
yeah.
B
That
was
one
of
the
most
I,
don't
know
heartwarming
and
just
it
was
an
amazing
series
of
events
and
I've,
always
kind
of
I've,
always
kind
of
prided
myself
on
decision
making.
When
it's
extremely
critical
we
had
Hurricane
Matthew
destroyed
the
restaurant
I
came
back,
I
got
back
early,
I
got
a
DNR
escort
to
bring
me
back
over
the
bridges
and
just
saw
the
devastation
and
I
knew
the
first
thing.
I
thought
of
was
not
you
know.
B
What's
going
to
happen
to
Hudson's
the
first
thing,
I
thought
of
was
what's
going
to
happen
to
our
150
employees,
that
you
know
some
of
them,
regrettably,
are
living
paycheck
to
paycheck.
Some
of
them
have
kids
that
are
in
school,
they're
affording
you
know
high
high
priced
real
estate
and
renting
these
properties,
and
are
they
going
to
be
okay
and
I,
started
to
think
about
it
and
I?
B
When
I
had
my
initial
meeting
with
a
contractor,
I
said:
how
long
is
it
until
you
can
get
us
open
and
they
said
three
and
a
half
to
four
months
and
I
said?
Well,
that's
not
going
to
work
for
me
because
I
have
150
employees
that
need
to
come
to
work
so
I
hatched
a
plan.
I
had
all
the
employees
come
back
when
they
were
able
to
come
back
to
the
island.
I
had
a
full
staff
meeting
and
about
95
of
120
employees
showed
up
and
I
said.
Here's
the
deal.
B
A
B
And
they
go
homework.
Do
too
that's
right
and
I
like
that
and
I
appreciate
that,
and
you
know
one
of
our
hosts
has
said
to
me.
Oh
I,
probably
shouldn't
say
this,
but
occasionally
I
do
favors
for
customers,
you
know
if
they
have
family
in
town.
They
call
me
or
text
me
and
say:
hey
I
got
my
family
coming
in
town.
Is
there
any
way
you
can
help
us
get
a
table
and
I
say
sure
you
know
membership
has
its
privileges.
A
B
B
Man,
New
People's,
tough,
but
I'll,
tell
you
a
funny
story
and
I
won't
say
his
name,
because
I
don't
want
to
embarrass
anybody,
but
just
the
other
day
we
I
was
walking
around
the
deck
and
a
good
friend
that
I've
known
for
a
really
really
long
time
that
just
sold
his
business
on
the
island.
He
sold
it
last
year
and
I
said
what
are
you
doing
now?
B
I
know
you're,
not
retired,
because
I
know
that
you
go
go,
go
and
there's
no
way
you're
going
to
enjoy
retirement,
and
he
said
you
know
it's
time
for
me
to
do
something
and
I
said
well.
What
are
you
thinking
about
doing
and
he
said
I
don't
know
waiting
tables
bartending
a
couple
days
a
week.
I
said
you're
welcome
to
work
here
and
he
couldn't
believe
that
I
said
that,
and
he
said,
are
you
serious?
Are
you
just
being
nice
and
I
said
no
I
said
I'd
love
to
have
you
man?
B
You
know
so
many
people
and
you'd
fit
in
great
here
just
the
way
that
you
interact
with
people.
I
mean
it
would
be
a
great
fit,
and
you
know
it's
a
really
great
compliment
to
to
to
me
that
he
would
want
to
work
here,
because
you
know
there's
ego
involved
when
you,
when
you're
a
business
owner
and
and
going
to
work
for
another
business
owner.
You
know
sometimes
there's
ego
involved,
so
I
was
really
touched
that
he
he
wanted
to
do
that.
B
So
he
is
I,
guess
starting
next
week,
which
is
great,
but
that's
not
the
norm.
Normally
we're
scrapping
for
people
I
mean
we
really
have
to
struggle
to
to
get
people
and
and
the
way
that
we
do.
It
is
tricky
too,
because
if,
if
somebody
doesn't
fit
in,
we
don't
keep
them
right.
You
know
we
just
it's
not
like
again
Life's
too
short,
and
you
know
one
One
Bad
Apple
can
spoil
the
bunch.
B
So
if
we
onboard
somebody-
and
we
realize
day
two
that
maybe
it's
not
a
good
fit,
we'll
have
a
conversation
with
them
and
say:
hey
is
this
the
norm
or
is
this
just?
Are
you
having
a
bad
week,
but
so
yeah
I
mean
it's
really
challenging
to
get
those
ones
that
stick,
especially
in
the
current
climate,
but
like
I
always
say,
we've
got
the
right
kind
of
problems,
man
right
right.
B
A
tough
one
yeah,
so
my
brother,
my
parents,
my
brother,
lost
a
long
fight
with
cancer
in
2002.,
and
my
parents
have
always
been
the
kind
of
people
that
always
my
dad,
especially
always
try
to
turn
something
negative
into
something
positive.
So
when
he
passed
away,
they
started
a
foundation
to
raise
money
for
various
non-profits
and
they
had
a
little
fundraiser
that
they
did
at
the
restaurant,
and
the
first
year
was
300
people.
The
second
year
was
400
people
in
2006.
We
it's
my
first
year
back.
B
We
moved
it
to
the
new
old
Shelter,
Cove,
Community,
Park
and
the
park
swallowed.
The
event
and
I
was
super
embarrassed.
I
was
pretty
mortified,
I
mean
it
was
just
seeing
this
whole
giant
Park
and
these
little
group
of
people,
and
so
we
knew
we
needed
to
do
something.
So
we
pivoted
and
rebranded,
at
the
Hilton
Head
Island,
Seafood,
Festival
and
and
since
then,
we've
donated
1.2
million
dollars
to
local
non-profits
and
those
include
after
school
programs
at
the
rec
center
for
kids.
B
B
Mitchellville
project
we've
given
some
money
to
this
year,
Coastal
conservation
League,
because
without
this
we
have
nothing.
Without
these
natural
resources,
we
have
no
tourism.
We
have
no
development.
We
have
no
business,
nothing
so
Coastal
conservation,
League,
Port,
Royal,
sound
Foundation,
because
anything
that
I
can
do
and
our
family
can
do
to
make
Hilton
Head
a
better
place
to
live
and
work.
B
A
B
They
just
saw
a
need
in
the
community
for
somewhere
for
people
to
go.
You
know
widows,
people
that
are
down
on
their
luck,
but
they
never
build
it
as
something
for
people
that
were
in
need
because
they
thought
that
people
would
be
hesitant
to
attend,
and
that
was
the
best
thing
they
ever
did
because
now
you
see
people
pull
up
in
rolls
royces
and
Bentleys,
and
you
see
people
come
up
in
on
bikes.
B
You
see
people
walking
from
their
neighborhood
down
the
road
and
they
eat
family
style
for
free
with
whoever
they're
standing
in
line
with.
So
it
truly
encapsulates
the
nature
of
community
and
I.
Wouldn't
I
can't
imagine
Thanksgiving
without
it.
Actually,
my
oldest
daughter
is
old
enough.
Finally,
to
volunteer
this
year,
so
she's
going
to
be
helping
me
out
in
the
kitchen
is.
B
Every
year,
every
year,
in
fact,
every
year,
I
have
somebody
come
up
to
me
and
say:
hey
I
can't
volunteer
through
the
church,
can
can
I
come
and
help
you
in
the
kitchen
and
I
say
yeah
come
on
come
help
me
in
the
kitchen.
How
many
volunteers
do
you
get
I
think
this
year
we
had
360
volunteers
yeah
and
we
served
1600
people
just
amazing
yeah
and
then
how
about
Hudson's
people?
B
A
B
For
it
there's
no
absence,
it's
a
good
good
little
event
and
we
we
love
doing
it
and
the
lacoe
family
and
all
the
other
supporters
from
Saint
Andrews
Church.
And
it's
just
it's
a
really
special
day.
So
you
know,
even
if
you
don't
have
an
opportunity
to
volunteer
you're,
welcome
to
come
and
eat
and
leave
a
donation,
it's
something
that
every
Islander
should
experience
at
least
once
I
think
foreign.
B
Yeah
I
mean
I.
Think
the
answer
to
this
concrete
pad
that
we're
on
right
now
is
to
create
a
similar
dock
to
what
we
have
over
here
and
do
it
on
pilings.
So,
as
we
deal
with
Tide
inundation,
we
have
a
structure,
that's
there
and
there
for
Generations
I.
Think
that's
the
plan
anyway,
and
we've
got
some
plans
to
do
that.
It's
sort
of
we're
sort
of
phasing
everything
out
now.
We've
got
an
architect
that
we're
working
with
and
you're.
B
Story
end
this
here
yeah,
we
don't
have
a
choice
eventually,
we'll
have
to
go
up
a
second
story.
I
think,
unfortunately,
but
this
year
has
been
great.
I
mean
this
year.
We,
this
fall,
has
been
the
most
mild
with
regards
to
the
tides
that
we've
had
in
the
last
five
six
years.
So
you
know
they
do
say
certain
things
like
that
are
cyclical,
so
maybe
we're
in
a
different
Trend
but
I
think
it's.
B
You
know
if
you're
looking
at
the
next
50
years,
I
think
it's
something
that
we're
going
to
have
to
very
seriously
address
and
I.
Don't
want
to
leave
it
to
my
children
to
to
have
to
do
that
or
so
it's
something
that's
going
to
fall
on
my
shoulders
and
something
that
I'm
not
really
looking
forward
to,
and
but
the
plan
is
to
do
it
in
a
way
that
we
can
retain
our
employees
and
and
do
it
in
phases
where
we're
not
disrupting
the
business
entirely.
B
My
mom
and
dad
spent
the
whole
month
of
September
in
Montana
and
they
came
back
per
usual
from
Montana
looking
10
years
younger.
You
know,
I
think
for
them
it's
just
nice
to
be
able
to
get
away
and
be
somewhere
else
where
you
know
they
can
be
anonymous
for
a
while.
You
know
I
think
they
really
enjoy
just
kind
of
disconnecting
for
a
period
and
I
and
I
get
that
and
I'm
so
glad
that
they
deserve
it.
They
earned
it
more
than
most
people.
So.
A
B
B
Stuff
he's
very
well
read:
guy
I
mean
there's
very
few
people
that
have
more
information
up
there
than
than
he
does
and
I
have
learned
so
much
from
them
and
I
think
the
big
thing
that
he
taught
me
and
my
brother
as
a
kid
was
that
and
just
not
by
saying
it.
But
by
doing
it
was
you
know,
he
was
always
involved,
always
doing
something
to
help
whether
it
was
setting
up
the
rec
center
or
whether
it
was
doing
the
rotary
stuff
that
he
did.
It
wasn't.
B
If
you
participated,
and
if
you
got
involved,
it
was
how
yeah
and
he
led
by
example
in
that
regard
and
I'm,
so
glad
that
he
did
because
some
of
the
most
enriching
parts
of
my
life
to
this
day
are
those
involvements
that
I
have
that.
Probably
I
wouldn't
have
been
as
involved
if
it
weren't
for
his
example.