Originally from Hilton Head Island, SC, Rod grew up the son of a chef mom who taught him his love for
all things culinary at a very young age and father who published one of the first bar and restaurant
industry trade magazines called Top Shelf.
He has 20 years of experience in all facets of the industry in culinary communities around the world such
as Martha’s Vineyard, Byron Bay, Australia, Boston, South Florida and Charleston.
Rod moved to South Florida in 2003 from Hilton Head where he worked at Prime Catch in Boynton
Beach for six years. He left for an opportunity on Martha’s Vineyard at The Seafood Shanty on the
Edgartown Harbor. He then got the travel bug and went to Australia via South East Asia in 2009, which is
where he discovered his love of craft cocktails working at The Balcony in Byron Bay. He lived there for 10
months then returned to Martha’s Vineyard for another summer.
He decided to try Boston after four seasons on Martha’s Vineyard, but after one blizzard the Lowcountry
called him home.
He first worked at The Rarebit upon moving to Charleston in 2013 and became bar manager after nine
months on the job.
He met his wife Katie the same year and they were married in 2017 on Folly Beach. They welcomed their
first child, a boy, later that same year.
In 2016, he left The Rarebit to open Sermets where he expanded his wine knowledge exponentially and
created his first signature menu of cocktails.
Fun fact: he won the 2015 Hendricks Gin Most Unusual Bartender Challenge, with his creation of gin-
infused coconut ice cream and a hard root beer float with butterscotch and toasted coconut rim. He
dressed as Julia Childs for the presentation which sealed the deal for the judges.
In Jan 2018 I attended the BAR 5 Day class (look It up) in NYC (it was prize for wining) world most
comprehensive and in depth spirits and mixology class. Its taught by 6 of the best wine and sprits minds
in the world extremely intensive. I passed! The certification is called BAR READY.
Creativity is one of my greatest strengths and passions in life. As well as making people laugh and feel
welcome and happy! Looking forward to collaborating with Xan on our cocktail development at Wiki and
giving Charleston a unique and memorable experience and showing them the amazing and mysterious
world of Tiki culture. Rod is thrilled to be a part of the Wiki Wiki team and psyched to be a part of the
Tiki renaissance that is happening around the world and specifically in Charleston!!