Nelson De Hoyos honors his roots with farm-to-table venture Pergola
For months before Pergola officially opened August 21 in the former Southern Culture location on North Pleasantburg Drive, chef and co-owner Nelson De Hoyos worked with farmers and providers to source the best of what was available locally. His many years with Halls Chophouse Management Group and the last four as a restaurant consultant provided a solid foundation for those meetings and tastings.
From Wagyu beef to beets, he was, and is, determined to find ingredients that provide the most flavor with the least intervention. He even went so far as to mock-argue with other chefs at an April gathering over who would get access to the prized produce grown by Montgomery Sky Farm in Leicester, North Carolina. While in that particular instance the competitive overtures were in jest, his dedication to responsibly sourcing certainly isn’t.
The Upstate’s terroir produces no shortage of exceptional seasonal ingredients, and De Hoyos created an opening menu lineup that reflects his intention to use as much of it as possible. Growing Green Family Farms, Broadwater Shrimp, Forx Farm, Hartness Farm, Timberock Ducks, and many more are featured across shareables and mains.
Pergola menu
The set menu changes seasonally, while the daily features are what make De Hoyos the most excited. The soup or fish of the day often comes from an enthusiastic exchange with a farmer about an amazing limited-quantity ingredient, and De Hoyos gets to work on how to express those flavors on a plate.
And as much as such a commitment is a stated foundation of the restaurant, he’s also reconnecting with his roots. Born in New York City, De Hoyos was raised in Cartagena, Colombia, where he was immersed in growing, raising, and butchering on his mother’s family farm.
“It reminds me of my childhood when I was on the farm with my grandparents. I mean, it’s just fresh ingredients,” he says.
As a chef-owner, De Hoyos can prioritize sourcing over many other important tasks because Pergola is his first restaurant project without an outside investor or business partner. He answers only to his wife, co-owner Leigha De Hoyos, who fully supports the efforts. When they do need to discuss critical decisions, Nelson pours her a glass of wine and they talk it out while their children run around.
The couple’s now-paused wine bar project in Hollingsworth Park with the working name of Pergola hadn’t quite panned out when they were approached about taking over the current space. Among many other characteristics that were attractive–location, parking, ability to host private events–the existing pergola shading the patio was too much of a coincidence to ignore. They signed the papers and got to work with a branding team.
From the restaurant logo to the interior design to the menu, everything connects back to Nelson De Hoyos’s heritage, celebrating the flavor of those fresh-picked ingredients.
“We had kind of explained to them that we wanted the restaurant to feel lighter and airier, and they hit the nail on the head,” Leigha De Hoyos says of the design concept. “But then it just translated so well with the way that his food is cooked. I think the name and the way that the light shines through the pergola, it all ties in with how light and airy his food is.”
Leigha’s expertise from a decade of event planning, management, and floral design complements her husband’s culinary acumen. The result is a space with fireplaces, the namesake patio, and an intimate private dining room that they believe invites guests to enjoy as much as what they order.
“I just want people to come and enjoy and have a good time,” Nelson De Hoyos says. “Just be here and be happy, enjoy great drinks, great food.”
