Food History of Savannah

Key eras

1. 1733, Oglethorpe founds Savannah

   James Oglethorpe's party landed at Yamacraw Bluff on 12 February 1733, the founding date of Savannah, Georgia's first planned city. Six squares were laid out under Oglethorpe; the grid later grew to 24 squares, and 22 survive in the Historic District.

   Taste it todaySavannah's Candy Kitchen

2. 1800, the enslaved majority and the rice kitchen

   Savannah's wealth came partly from the slave trade; slavery was banned in the colony at first, at Oglethorpe's insistence, but by 1800 the enslaved population exceeded the free population. Hoppin' John, the Lowcountry one-pot dish of peas and rice, is traced to the Gullah people and to the rice and bean dishes of enslaved West Africans.

   Taste it todayHoppin' JohnSavannah's Candy Kitchen

3. 1919, Leopold's Ice Cream opens

   George and Peter Leopold, Greek immigrants who had moved to Savannah from Brazil, Indiana, to be near their sister, founded Leopold's in 1919 in a former fruit stand at East Gwinnett and Habersham Streets; Basil Leopold joined them in 1925. The shop closed in 1969 and moved to East Broughton Street in August 2004; tutti frutti is its signature flavor.

   Taste it todayLeopold's Ice CreamSavannah's Candy Kitchen

4. 1920s to 1980s, Pin Point oyster and crab canning

   Crab and oyster canning was the main employer of Pin Point, the Gullah/Geechee community on Shipyard Creek, a branch of the Moon River southeast of Savannah, from the 1920s through the 1980s. The Pin Point Heritage Museum, at 9924 Pin Point Avenue, occupies the former A.S. Varn & Son Oyster and Crab Factory.

   Taste it todaySavannah's Candy Kitchen

5. 1933, Crystal Beer Parlor

   Crystal Beer Parlor, at 301 West Jones Street, began as the Gerken Family Grocery Store in the early 1900s and, by its own account, was one of the first American eating establishments to serve alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition. Its menu sheets read Est. 1933, and it is closed on Mondays.

   Taste it todayCrystal Beer Parlor

6. 1943, Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room

   In 1943 Sema Wilkes took over a boardinghouse in downtown Savannah and served homestyle Southern cooking family style in its downstairs dining room. Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, at 107 West Jones Street, serves lunch Monday to Friday at tables for ten shared with strangers, takes cash or checks only, and changes its menu daily.

   Taste it todayMrs. Wilkes Dining RoomSavannah's Candy Kitchen

7. 1981, Elizabeth on 37th opens

   Elizabeth and Michael Terry opened Elizabeth on 37th on 14 May 1981 in a Greek Revival mansion built in 1901 at 105 East 37th Street. Elizabeth Terry won the 1995 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southeast; Greg and Gary Butch have owned the restaurant since 1996.

   Taste it todayElizabeth on 37th

8. 2014, The Grey opens

   The Grey opened in December 2014 in a 1938 Greyhound bus terminal that Johno Morisano and chef Mashama Bailey restored. Bailey won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southeast in 2019 and Outstanding Chef in 2022, and the restaurant calls her cooking Port City Southern food.

   Taste it todayThe Grey

Immigrant influences

Gullah Geechee (West African)

Food writer Rachel Wharton credits the Gullah Geechee people with developing shrimp and grits, and hoppin' John is said to have originated with the Gullah as a Lowcountry one-pot dish.

Irish

Savannah's Irish Catholic community has celebrated the Feast of Saint Patrick since 1824; the March 17 parade has about 280 units, and the day begins with Mass at the cathedral.

Taste it todaySavannah's Candy Kitchen

Greek (Leopold brothers)

George and Peter Leopold, Greek immigrants, founded Leopold's in 1919. St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church holds the Savannah Greek Festival each October; the 75th was on October 8 to 10, 2026.

Taste it todayLeopold's Ice CreamSavannah Greek FestivalSavannah's Candy Kitchen

Jewish

Congregation Mickve Israel, on Monterey Square, has run the Shalom Y'all Jewish Food Festival for 36 years; the 2026 festival is on November 8, with food sold separately.

Taste it todayShalom Y'all Jewish Food Festival

Signature innovations

• Shrimp and grits, developed by the Gullah Geechee people and long eaten at breakfast in shrimp season
  Taste it todayShrimp and grits
• Hoppin' John, a Lowcountry one-pot dish of peas and rice served on New Year's Day for luck
  Taste it todayHoppin' John
• She-crab soup, a South Carolina Lowcountry specialty found on menus in Charleston and Savannah
  Taste it todayShe-crab soupSavannah's Candy Kitchen
• Lowcountry boil, also called Frogmore stew: shrimp, sausage, corn and red potatoes in one pot
  Taste it todayLowcountry boil (Frogmore stew)
• Pralines poured from a copper kettle at Savannah's Candy Kitchen on River Street
  Taste it todaySavannah's Candy Kitchen