Looking Back: The Story That Started It All — Featuring Nan Brown Sutton

It’s hard to believe it’s already October. The year’s winding down, and we’re just a couple months away from wrapping up what has truly been an incredible start for Chambers Chatter. Since launching, y’all have shown us so much love — sharing stories, tuning in, and helping us celebrate the people who make Beaufort, Beaufort.

As the live oaks turn a little darker and the marshes take on that golden fall hue, we’ve been thinking back to where it all began — that very first episode we aired back in January. The one that set the tone for everything that’s followed. The story of a woman who’s been a thread in the fabric of downtown Beaufort for more than two decades — Nan Brown Sutton, the owner of Lulu Burgess.

So before the year ends, we want to go back — to that very first conversation, the one that reminded us what this show is all about: the people who have helped shape Beaufort, who’ve seen it grow, and who carry its stories in their hearts.

Coming Home to Beaufort

Nan’s story begins like so many Beaufort stories do — with coming home. After sixteen years in New York City, she returned in 2000 and opened Lulu Burgess, right on Bay Street. “I’ve been there 24 years now,” she said proudly. “I’ve been in retail on Bay Street for a long time.”

The name Lulu Burgess came straight from her heart. “Lulu was a nickname somebody called me when I was a little girl, and Burgess was my mama’s name — it’s also my middle name. They were my two favorite names, so I just stuck them together.”

From the moment the store opened, it became more than a shop — it became a place for laughter and connection. “When I opened, 9/11 happened not long after,” Nan said. “It was a dismal time, and I realized we needed laughter. So I brought humor into the store.”

If you’ve ever stepped inside Lulu Burgess, you’ve felt that spirit — the mix of funny cocktail napkins, heartfelt gifts, and joy that bubbles out of the place. “The best part,” Nan said, “is seeing the serious people come in and laugh.”

Growing Up in Old Beaufort

Nan’s memories of Beaufort are the kind that could fill a history book, or maybe a porch conversation on a summer evening. Her grandmother once ran Sally’s Alteration Shop where Old Bull is now. As a little girl, Nan would take a few quarters to Edward’s Department Store — right where Lulu Burgess stands today — to buy candy and a cold Coca-Cola. “It was a quarter,” she said, laughing. “And I thought I was big stuff.”

She remembers Belk’s, Joe Lipit’s store with the mynah bird that talked back, and Coe’s Grocery — where the Urban Market now sits — famous for its boiled peanuts and crushed ice Coca-Colas before Sunday school. She talked about Dairy Queen on Ribaut Road, the Boundary Street drive-in theater, and the sound of train whistles where the Spanish Moss Trail now runs.

These weren’t just places — they were moments, snapshots of a Beaufort that still lingers in memory and in the way people greet one another downtown.

Traditions That Keep Us Together

Ask Nan her favorite Beaufort tradition, and she doesn’t hesitate. “A Night on the Town,” she said. “It’s such a community-driven thing. It brings everyone together.”

She spoke fondly of older days, when the Water Festival had its Bandshell and the Miss Beaufort Pageant was the highlight of the summer. “My daddy, Ned Brown, used to say the Pinckney girls were the most beautiful girls in the world,” she laughed. He was Beaufort’s photographer back then — a storyteller himself, just with a camera instead of a microphone.

And like all Beaufort folks, Nan misses the little things that have faded away — the grocery stores on every corner, the Jar Vista restaurant with its 1950s A-frame front, the Piggly Wiggly that once sat behind Old Bay Marketplace. “People now don’t want things to change,” she said. “But we’ve changed a lot over time. You just have to get over it.”

The People and the Progress

Of course, no look back at Beaufort is complete without remembering its characters. Nan’s favorite? Toti Fruiti — the man who never missed a parade. “He was the leader of every parade,” she said, “with his whistle, marching proudly down the street.”

And when it comes to progress, she gives credit where it’s due. “Your grandfather, Henry Chambers, built the Waterfront Park,” she told us. “It changed everything.” Her husband once told her that it happened at just the right moment — with the right vision and timing — and it gave Beaufort something truly special. “I don’t think there’s another city on the East Coast with a downtown waterfront park on the Intracoastal Waterway,” she said. “That forever changed Beaufort.”

Nan’s lived long enough to see Beaufort grow in all directions — and she still marvels at the changes. “In 2000, we didn’t have a City Hall or a Police Department like we do now,” she said. “We’ve come a long way — and it was worth every penny.”

Her Journey and Her Legacy

Before Lulu Burgess, Nan’s path took her far from home. After graduating from the College of Charleston, she moved to New York City to be an actress. She even worked at the United Nations as the director of catering. But life has a way of bringing you back to where you belong.

When her mother fell ill with cancer, Nan came home to Beaufort. “I wanted to spend the rest of her life with her,” she said quietly. Three months later, her mother passed away. And just a month after that, Nan opened Lulu Burgess — her mother’s name shining from the storefront. “It was special,” she said softly. “It still is.”

What She Hopes We Remember

When asked what legacy her generation might leave behind, Nan thought for a moment. “I don’t even think of myself as a generation,” she said. “I think of your grandfather’s — Henry Chambers, my father Ned Brown. We’ll be the old people soon,” she laughed.

But she does have a message for the younger ones: “Don’t forget our history. Keep it in the forefront of your mind. Watch the growth, be careful. My dad always called this paradise — and it took me sixteen years in New York to understand what he meant. It truly is paradise.”

Full Circle

That conversation — our first-ever episode — captured everything Chambers Chatter is meant to be. Stories of laughter and loss, of small-town memories and big changes. Of people who have shaped Beaufort, not just by what they built, but by how they’ve loved it.

As we head into the final stretch of the year, we just want to say thank you — to everyone who’s listened, shared, and celebrated along with us. From that first chat with Nan Brown Sutton to every story since, y’all remind us why we started: to honor the faces — old and new — who make this Lowcountry town shine.

Here’s to Beaufort. Here’s to our storytellers.

And here’s to where it all began.