Revisiting the Patel motel

When The Food Section hosts the North Charleston Garlic Crab Championship on March 9, it won’t be the first time that my work has intersected with the hotel at 3245 Rivers Avenue.

Nowadays, the venue operates as The Starlight Motor Inn, a boutique hotel with a swanky lounge and swimming pool. A couple of local developers bought the property out from the specter of the wrecking ball in 2020, armed with an ambitious resurrection plan that began with securing a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.