Mark Bolchoz grew up in Charleston, S.C., surrounded by the food and culture of the Low Country. Over the past decade, he’s worked for some of the city’s best restaurants, including the Grocery and Peninsula Grill, and he most recently served as culinary director of Italian concepts for Indigo Road Hospitality Group. Now he’s branching out on his own.
Bolchoz opened Cane Pazzo, which combines his Southern upbringing with his love for Italian cuisine, on June 14. It’s located in Hanahan, a small suburb just outside of Charleston.
“We’re definitely a bit more local oriented here than downtown,” said Bolchoz, whose prior work was centered in the city. “The rent is much more manageable, and we have the benefit of plenty of parking and multiple ways to get here that avoid high-traffic routes, which makes a big difference.”
The restaurant seats 72 inside and 40 more on the patio.
Cane Pazzo is about 2,100 square feet inside, with 72 seats, and a patio accommodates an additional 40 diners. The design pulls inspiration from Italy’s traditional osterias and taverns and has a lived-in, old-world feel. A large wooden bar is stocked with Italian spirits and aperitivi, and it’s also home to a bright-red La Marzocco espresso machine. The main dining room features a mix of tables and banquettes, and there’s a chef’s counter that looks onto the open kitchen and its wood-fired oven.
The menu is a mix of family recipes, Italian flavors, and influences Bolchoz gleaned from his chefs and mentors over the years.
“Low Country cuisine was originally born out of necessity and using what was available, just like in Italy,” Bolchoz said. “You see a lot of parallels, not only in the types of ingredients, but also in the seasonal approach to dishes.”
That translates to handmade pastas, like a creamed corn agnolotti with ricotta and heirloom tomato, and linguine with local shrimp.
There’s a chef’s counter that looks into the open kitchen.
Shareable small plates include wood-fired sourdough bread served with Calabrian honey butter, and crispy mozzarella cheese, which is a riff on classic mozzarella sticks. A section of large-format proteins features a bone-in pork chop, a rib eye, and a market fish, with a few vegetable-focused sides rounding out the menu.
Much of the menu spotlights seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers and fishermen — something consistent with both Italian and Low Country traditions. And each dish is served on handmade plates from Hallyburton Pottery in Rutherford College, N.C.
The wine list is an evolving collection of all-Italian bottles, and the food-friendly cocktails are largely named after song titles as a nod to the space’s former life as a music store.
Chef Mark Bolchoz makes pasta in-house.
The restaurant’s name means “mad dog” in Italian, which was a nickname Bolchoz’s grandfather gave him. It is also a reference to the United States Marine Corps, in which both Bolchoz and his grandfather served.
Cane Pazzo is the first concept under the newly formed Semper Elevatum Hospitality Group. Bolchoz said that he has another concept or two up his sleeve, but nothing is definitive yet. Mostly, he and his team want to keep contributing to the growth and community development in Hanahan and the surrounding areas.
“Or maybe we’ll open our next spot in Sicily, who knows,” said Bolchoz. “More than anything, I really like the direction we’re heading. I hope to be a sounding board and a friendly ear for other industry folks trying to start their own thing. I was lucky to get some great advice from a few chef/owner friends early on, and without that support, I’m not sure we’d be where we are today.”
