First it was McCrady’s—the fine dining restaurant Tradd Newton revitalized while working for the Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company in the late 1990s. It earned AAA’s Four Diamond Award, garnered glowing reviews from Wine Spectator and Esquire, and introduced Newton as a savvy new personality amid Charleston’s colorful dining scene.

For Tradd's second project, he and wife, Weesie, embraced the role of co-entrepreneurs with Fleet Landing, a casual seafood restaurant housed in a 1940s naval supply building that overlooks the Charleston harbor. Since Fleet Landing’s 2004 opening, both the bustling restaurant and revitalized building have scored accolades from publications, including the New York Times, Town and Country, and Food and Wine.

For their third venture, the Newtons have expanded their hospitality interests with the acquisition of Vendue Suites.