On May 31, 2012, Bulls Bay Saltworks became the first operational salt company in South Carolina since the Civil War. The state’s last saltern, at Palmetto Point on Bulls Bay, was destroyed by the USS James Chambers on February 25, 1865.
For Teresa and Preston Danner, the salt was already everywhere: in the air around Charleston, in Bulls Bay oysters, on walks around Lighthouse Island helping the Turtle Crew, in afternoons at The Battery. Eventually it insisted on finding a way into the kitchen. One of the first experimental batches was made during a twelve-hour hog roast at their home; the heat and extra room in the smoker also produced their first batch of Smoked Sea Salt, and by the end of the potluck most of the talk was about the salt.
The team is still very small, and every stage of salt production and packaging is done by hand, on site; small expansions since 2012, with the focus on growing and harvesting the purest sea salt available. Collaborations with other local businesses produce one-offs like the Bourbon Barrel Smoked Flake, and plenty of area makers cook with their salt as an ingredient. They’re downtown a lot, supporting local businesses, squeezing in beach time, making deliveries. If you see them around, wave and say hi.
