A James Beard Award-winning chef is bringing the second location of his celebrated spice shop to Charleston this summer. Meherwan Irani , chef and owner of Asheville, N.C.
, restaurant Chai Pani, is preparing to open Spicewalla at 49 John St., the former home of True Lucia. The shop will sell a roster of more than 200 spices and 60-plus varieties of culturally diverse blends the chef believes are missing in the market.
Spicewalla's collection also includes collaborative blends like Billy D’s Fried Chicken Spice with chef William Dissen and a mignonette blend with Island Creek Oysters. Irani, a regular participant at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival , is targeting a mid-July opening for Spicewalla Charleston, he told The Post and Courier. Meherwan Irani, owner of Spicewalla.
"We target cities with vibrant tourism, great culinary community, and people that enjoy good food," Irani said via email, when asked why he chose Charleston for his second Spicewalla. "Charleston reminds us a lot of Asheville; when we began looking to expand, it was the most natural next market." Irani, who moved from India to the U.
S. to attend graduate school, opened Chai Pani in 2009. The Indian street food eatery, which has a second location in Decatur, Ga.
, won a James Beard Award in 2022 in the Outstanding Restaurant category. (The list of five finalists for that award included Charleston's Butcher & Bee, which permanently closed in 2023.) Story continues below Irani also operates a restaurant na.
