Southern Hospitality features the VIP staff of Republic Garden & Lounge on King Street in Charleston, the jewel in the restaurant empire of Southern Charm star Leva Bonaparte. It’s where Charlestonians go to let off some steam after the pressures of the da and have a good time. It’s where out of towners come to experience the bustling nightlife scene of Chucktown. More importantly, its where some of our favorite Southern Charm stars go to party and celebrate milestones. Like all curious Bravo fans, we found ourselves wondering: which members of our beloved Southern Charm cast are the best tippers? Which Bravolebrities reward the hard-working hosts and servers of Republic generously? During the press day for Southern Hospitality, we set out to find the answer.
“Taylor [Ann Green] definitely knows how it works. She’s a good tipper,” confides bartender TJ Dinch. “I feel like I’m going to have to go with Taylor. She comes in a lot and is friends with most of us,” agrees VIP Manager Maddi Reese. “She always wants to make sure that we’re taken care of.” Republic boss/owner Leva echoed Maddi, adding: “Taylor wants to pay and take care of everyone. She’s friends with most of the team, whereas other Southern Charmers might come in and just run a tab.” “Yes, or they want free stuff,” Maddi added. Leva mentioned that in the past she’s gotten calls from her team that “so-and-so [from the show] walked out on a $5000 bill.””However, Leva and Maddi were too classy to mention any names, so make your own assumptions!
Another name that kept coming up in our interviews was Southern Charm newcomer Jarrett “JT” Thomas. “JT’s a good tipper,” noted Irish VIP server Oisin O’Neill. “JT, he would be the one,” seconded VIP host Mikel Simmons. VIP server Bradley Carter also mentioned another Southern Charm newbie: Rod Razavi. “Rod always treats us well,” said Bradley, “We’ve been friends with JT and Rod for years.” VIP host Joe Bradley also praised the generous duo: “We look at them as older brothers. They have been loyal to our group and to Leva for years now.” It’s good to know that JT and Rod are as kind off-screen as they are on-screen.
VIP server Emmy Sharrett had sweet words to say about the female cast of Southern Charm. “I think the girls are always phenomenal tippers,” Emmy began. “Madison LeCroy came in for a table for a someone’s bachelorette party, and she paid the gratuity and then tipped on top of that.” Bartender TJ added: “As a hairdresser, Madison has experience in the service industry. She’s always been very respectful and kind to everyone at Republic.”
Will we see any of our favorite Southern Charmers partying it up in the VIP section of Republic anytime soon? You’ll have to tune to Southern Hospitality on Thursdays at 9PM and find out for yourself!