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Mainland Container Co. Kitchen & Bar — A Mount Pleasant Backyard for Live Music
Just off Ben Sawyer Boulevard on the way toward Sullivan’s Island, Mainland Container Co. Kitchen & Bar has developed into one of Mount Pleasant’s quintessential neighborhood music hangouts. Rather than operating like a traditional concert venue, Mainland combines a restaurant and bar with a large outdoor patio, oak trees and regular live performances. The result feels more like a Lowcountry backyard party with a stage than a conventional music club.
The Founders: Harris Khan and Mary Schultz
Mainland Container Co. opened in 2017, founded by hospitality veterans Harris Khan and Mary Schultz. Both had spent much of their professional lives in the food-and-beverage industry and were looking for a new venture when the Ben Sawyer Boulevard property became available. Schultz later recalled that the location seemed like the right fit for the casual, hospitality-driven concept they wanted to create.
Their idea was relatively straightforward: create a local gathering place with better food than typical bar fare, affordable prices, good service and an atmosphere where people wanted to stay awhile. That hospitality-first philosophy remains part of Mainland's stated identity today.
The name itself has a great Charleston connection. Khan and Schultz initially struggled to name the restaurant and eventually held a social-media naming contest. A shipping container converted into an outdoor bar, combined with the restaurant's location on the "mainland" just before the islands, inspired Mainland Container Co.
Music Was There Almost From the Beginning
Interestingly, Mainland's relationship with live music didn't develop years after it opened. Music was part of its identity from opening weekend.
The restaurant's official opening celebration took place on June 24, 2017, and Mainland booked Occasional Milkshake, featuring guitarist Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish, to perform. That meant a musician from one of South Carolina's most famous bands helped inaugurate the new Mount Pleasant gathering place.
Charleston City Paper likewise reported the opening as a performance featuring Bryan while describing the planned outdoor shipping-container bar. In retrospect, it was an appropriate beginning: the combination of outdoor space, drinks, food and recognizable local musicians would become central to Mainland's personality.
The Venue
The setting is one of Mainland's biggest assets.
Located at 1528 Ben Sawyer Boulevard, the restaurant occupies the former Sawyer's on the Boulevard property. There is indoor dining, but the outdoor area is what gives Mainland much of its character.
The large patio beneath mature oak trees, combined with the container bar and outdoor performance area, creates an environment that feels distinctly Lowcountry. Visitors can eat, have a drink, bring friends and listen to a band without the formality of buying a ticket and entering a dedicated concert hall.
That makes Mainland particularly well suited to singer-songwriters, acoustic performers, country, rock, Americana, blues and local cover bands. Music can be the centerpiece of the evening without turning the restaurant into a nightclub.
Becoming a Home for Local Musicians
Over time, live music became increasingly woven into Mainland's weekly rhythm. By 2019, profiles of the restaurant specifically highlighted its regular performances by popular bands and local artists alongside trivia and other entertainment.
That tradition continues. Mainland's event calendar has featured artists such as Jason Ayers, Abbey Elmore Band, River Mason Band and Rotie Salley, with some Saturdays offering afternoon music followed by another band in the evening. Its 2025 "Super Saturday," for example, featured Jason Ayers from 2–5 p.m. and Abbey Elmore Band from 6:30–9:30 p.m.
In 2026, the venue continues to schedule live music as part of recurring events such as Fish Fry Fridays, and its event calendar pairs food and drink specials with performances.
That consistency matters. Mainland isn't simply a restaurant that occasionally hires a musician. It has become part of the network of smaller Charleston-area venues that gives working local musicians somewhere to play regularly.
Historic and Memorable Events
The most historically significant musical event in Mainland's story remains its 2017 grand opening with Mark Bryan and Occasional Milkshake. Having a founding member of Hootie & the Blowfish perform at the launch immediately connected the restaurant to Charleston's larger musical history.
But Mainland's importance is arguably better measured by the hundreds of smaller community nights that followed. Events such as Super Saturday have turned the property into an all-day music gathering, with one artist performing during the afternoon and another taking over in the evening.
The venue also supports community causes. In May 2026, for example, Mainland hosted an Alzheimer's Patio Party, a benefit event centered on community gathering and fundraising.
And its music calendar continues to mix recurring local performers with new acts. Shows such as Forty Mile Detour in February 2026 were presented free of charge, reinforcing the accessible neighborhood character of the venue.
What Makes Mainland Special
Mainland occupies a different niche than Charleston's dedicated concert venues.
At places like the Music Farm or Charleston Music Hall, people generally arrive because they've purchased a ticket to see a particular artist. At Mainland, people may come for dinner or a beer and discover a band they have never heard before.
That distinction is important for a local music scene.
Small venues give musicians opportunities to perform repeatedly, develop their sound and build audiences. They also allow residents to experience live music without committing to an expensive concert ticket. Mainland's relaxed patio makes that experience particularly approachable.
Its location contributes to that identity as well. Sitting along the corridor between Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's Island, Mainland attracts a mixture of Mount Pleasant residents, beachgoers, musicians and visitors heading to or returning from the islands. Charleston Magazine was already recommending it in 2018 as a casual stop on the way toward Sullivan's Island.
A Neighborhood Venue Rather Than a Concert Hall
Perhaps the best way to describe Mainland Container is as a modern Lowcountry roadhouse.
There is food coming from the kitchen, cold drinks at the bar, dogs on the patio, friends gathered beneath the oak trees and a local musician or band playing nearby. It doesn't separate dining, drinking, music and community into different experiences—they all happen together.
That formula has allowed Mainland Container Co. to grow from a new restaurant opened by Harris Khan and Mary Schultz in 2017 into a recognizable part of Mount Pleasant's live-music landscape. And there's a fitting symmetry to its history: one of its first major events featured Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish, while nearly a decade later the venue continues giving Charleston-area musicians a stage of their own.
Mainland Container Co. official website