"Home of the She-Crab Soup" and "Famous for Charcoal Steaks and Charleston Seafoods," The Colony House opened in the 1950s at 35 Prioleau St. (now the location of the Harbour Club). Bill Snipes was the original owner, but sold the restaurant to Franz Meier, Chris Weihs, and Harry Waddington in the 1976. This trio would turn the establishment into a continental cuisine destination.
Columnist Teresa Taylor tracked the history of The Colony House in 2010 and wrote:
The change in ownership marked the genesis of what Kathy Britzius, director of the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association, calls the "European backbone" of Charleston dining. While Perdita's, at Exchange and Prioleau streets, already boasted a Council of Paris Medal of Honor and a national reputation, the new Colony House soon would turn haute cuisine in Charleston on its head.
Southern Maverick Kitchens owner Dick Elliott began his career when he purchased The Colony House in 1989. Elliot told Eater:
Well, when I first contemplated buying the Colony House, I knew Louis Osteen from his restaurant in Pawleys Island, and he said the only restaurant he would think of buying was the Colony House, and he said he would try to hire Frank Lee, which I did. At that point, Frank was working with José de Anacleto and had some other things in the fire at that point. Then David Marconi came along, and we opened Colony House in 1990. Frank became available in 1992, and we opened Slightly North of Broad.
The establishment shuttered, and the Harbour Club took over the address in 1994.