Walter Rushton doesn’t know the origin of Foskoskies, the name of the restaurant his fraternal grandparents opened in Augusta, Ga. in 1947.
His grandparents’ establishment thrived for almost 30 years, serving many of the golfers from The Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Rushton has fond childhood memories of running around the restaurant playing with his sister and cousins. His mother met his father there when she began working as a waitress.
In 2006, Rushton opened Foskoskies Neighborhood Café in the Shamrock neighborhood. After working in the restaurant industry since he was 15 years old, he says it was a natural fit for him to open another Foskoskies. The original location closed in 1975.
Located where the old Pike’s Soda Shop once was, Foskoskies has a nostalgic ambience. The white tiled floors, long counter and bar stools remain, although Rushton renovated the space to have a French bistro appeal. In 2007, he expanded, opening up the other side of the café to o!er an event space for private parties. His last addition is an outside patio area that features night blooming moon vines.
“At 5 or 6 p.m. every night, 40 or 50 white blooms open up, and when the morning sun hits them they die. It’s beautiful,” said Rushton. He said he wanted to add a di!erent ambience for patrons that sit outside.
The menu features some traditional southern items like fried green tomatoes, but many entrees are served with a twist. The most popular entrees are the honey-pecan fried chicken and the Lowcountry crab cakes.
Rushton makes all of the restaurant’s desserts from scratch. Charlotte magazine named the apple butterscotch pound cake with caramel sauce as one of the top 100 dishes in Charlotte in 2010.
Rushton is passionate about the food he creates and is happy the quality of the food continues to bring customers by word of mouth.
“We serve the best quality foods we can find, we use local ingredients when possible and we serve hormone-free beef for our burgers and the pork chop and vegetables are local,” said Rushton.
Profile written by Lashawnda K. Becoats