Everyone has a Big Bamboo story. The problem is, most of those stories aren’t exactly what you’d call fit for publication.
That’s not necessarily intended to paint the venerable bar, restaurant, music venue, and social hub as some kind of raucous keg party. After all, you don’t make it to 30 years in business by just keeping the drinks flowing.
You do it, as “The Boo” has proven, by creating something more than just a place. The Big Bamboo is the lunch spot where locals know they can grab a quick bite to eat that will be as easy on the wallet as it is pleasing to the palate. It’s the historic throwback where WWII junkies can pretend they’re grabbing chow during shore leave. It’s the electric stage that has hosted some of the most iconic performances in Hilton Head Island history. It’s the beach-adjacent hangout where we can listen to some reggae, smell the salt air, and remind ourselves why we moved here in the first place.
“It’s really created a deep- rooted connection for many islanders over the years. I’ve had a lot of people who met their loved one in the Big Bamboo and now they’re married with kids. I hear it all the time,” said Tristan O’Grady, who purchased The Big Bamboo with his brother Kieron and his wife Stacey 25 years ago. “This is the locals bar. There’s something special about it. There’s something in the walls there.”
It is, quite possibly, the most multi-dimensional experience on the island. If you ask people to share their stories of the Big Bamboo, most people will tell you, “I have a bunch.” And yet, if you ask them to share them in print, they will suddenly find someplace else they need to be. Fortunately, a few brave locals were willing to step up and do what others wouldn’t – share their love for one of the island’s true institutions.
“I’ve got a couple I can’t talk about, but a few I can,” relented area Realtor Rick Saba with COAST brokered by eXp Realty. His tales of the Big Bamboo come from a different perspective than most. Like all of us, he’s celebrated a few nights there, but he’s also led the celebration as the frontman of White Liquor. One night, his dual lives as a Realtor and rockstar came together under the thatched palms and camo netting of The Big Bamboo.
“This was back when we’d play from 10-2 and then I’d be up showing property the next morning at 9 a.m. I had a client drive down from Atlanta to meet, and she called me in the morning asking if we could move our appointment back,” he said. “When she came by the office, she looked a little worse for wear. She told me she’d been at the Big Bamboo and there was this guy performing, jumping off tables and everything, so she’d stayed late.”
He showed her a few different properties that morning, never letting on that he was the guy jumping off tables. “When we finished up, I said, ‘I’ll tell you when our band’s playing again,’” he said. “She put two and two together and her jaw just dropped.”
Like a lot of local musicians who have played the stage at Big Bamboo, Saba is full of great memories. Opening for regional touring bands, jumping in and out of windows, whipping the crowd into a frenzy of musical mayhem. Coming from the music business, O’Grady wanted to fill the Big Bamboo with sound, bringing in big acts like Candlebox and giving local acts like The Beagles, Cornbred, Lowcountry Boil, The Mundahs, and PATWA a friendly stage.
“PATWA would always take a break between sets in this big red minivan they’d park right in front of the Big Bamboo. And when they’d take a break there’d always be a cloud of smoke,” O’Grady said with a laugh. “They did that for 20 years and never got arrested.”
The Big Bamboo, located in Coligny Plaza, recently celebrated 30 years of serving up fun for locals and visitors on Hilton Head Island.
And yet it’s not just the loud, raucous, potentially illegal moments that define this place. Sometimes it’s the quieter evenings at the Big Bamboo that stay with you the longest. For Caitlin Lee, co-host of the popular Hilton Head Island is (Still) Fun podcast, one quiet evening led to a love for the restaurant that continues.
“Picture this. It’s January 2010, in the middle of recession and I was out for my birthday. January 13th, which is the worst birthday to have, since it’s two weeks after New Year’s and everyone is on a diet and broke,” she said. “Back then there was literally nothing open on Hilton Head after 9 p.m. The Big Bamboo was literally the only place open, but we had so much fun. And I got very drunk… but the point of the story is, the Big Bamboo has always been there for us.”
That goes beyond simply late-night parties for Lee. “It could be a dreary January birthday or a reggae night where you’re nuts to butts in there or a Thanksgiving where you need to take your mom out to eat. It’s always been there.”
Lee’s own evolution mirrors many of our own, from the Big Bamboo being the place to really let your hair down to being the place you create family memories in.
“We’ve tamed it up a little bit as we’ve grown up,” O’Grady said. “When Kieran and I bought the place, I was in my 20s and we didn’t have any kids at all. Now my oldest kid, Lucas, is 25 and one of the managers. My youngest kid, Lily, just started working there as a host, and my other two will come from college and work every once in a while.”
That enduring appeal, particularly vibrant to those of us who have had the opportunity to grow alongside the venerable institution, is part of the charm. You walk in more mature, but immediately the atmosphere of the place takes you back to those glory days of late nights. Sally Zuniga, owner of Tio’s Latin American along with her husband Lynden, is one such local who has been there every step of the way.
“The best bar and restaurant (curry fries, hello?!) that we’ve enjoyed in our 20s, 30s and now in our 40s,” she wrote. “We got to know Zach Deputy more than 20 years ago, after completing a national tour, Zach came back to the island and played at the Big Bamboo to a crazy packed house; the energy was electric.”
Along with her story, she shared a photo of her and Lynden from 2015, a night that she calls “the best night with the best friends.”
“The entire O’Grady family is one you’d want to emulate,” she added. “Good, salt of the earth people who have raised wonderful kids and care deeply for our community. Congratulations on 30 years, fam! Cheers and we love you.”
So cheers to 30 years of the Big Bamboo, and to many more. May future generations come to this place, discover why we fell in love, and create a few of their own unprintable stories.
