HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (January 25, 2021) — Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island has hired industry veteran Justin Rowland as its new Director of Food & Beverage.
Rowland will oversee all elements of dining and catering at Palmetto Dunes, including Alexander’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, all three restaurants located at the resort’s trio of golf courses, the oceanfront Dunes House, which is open to resort guests and property owners, and the resort’s new food truck.
“Palmetto Dunes is the anchor point of Hilton Head Island and family owned,” Rowland said. “There’s a lot of history, and a great opportunity to grow and develop the food and beverage program. My goal is to transform Palmetto Dunes into a food and beverage destination.”
Rowland arrives at Palmetto Dunes with nearly two decades experience in the food, beverage and hospitality industries, including nine years at Montage Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, S.C., where he served as Director of Restaurants and helped elevate the resort to a 5-star Forbes rating for the first time in its history. He has also worked at Grand Wailea Resort in Wailea, Hawaii, and The St. Regis in Atlanta, Ga. The 42-year-old has a wife and two teenaged children.
“The south has a very rich food tradition,” Rowland said. “I want to celebrate that in all of our restaurants at Palmetto Dunes. We’re striving to give the golf grills more of a local, regional southern influence. Aside from a fun day of golf, we want our guests and members to enjoy a unique and memorable dining experience with us, as well."
Palmetto Dunes’ award-winning, in-house catering and events team are renowned for planning a wide variety of memorable events and can meet the needs of any group from 16 to 250+ guests, including business meetings, continental breakfasts, coffee breaks, box lunches, awards dinners, rehearsal dinners, weddings, celebration events and family reunions.
For more than two decades, Dunes Catering & Events has served Hilton Head Island weddings. In 2021, for the fourth consecutive year, Palmetto Dunes received the prestigious “Couples Choice Award” from WeddingWire.com, the global online leader in connecting engaged couples with wedding professionals.
“There’s a huge opportunity to grow our wedding banquet catering business” Rowland said. “Obviously, the Lowcountry is beautiful and folks like to get married here at the beach, outside with the Palmetto trees and Spanish moss, that sort of thing. A big part of my work history has been in luxury weddings, so that’s an area where I’m going to focus on growing our business and our brand as a destination wedding venue.”
