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Snackin' & Yakkin'
What does a guy who spent decades building giant buildings do next, build a snack board so full it needs a second zip code. On Episode 35 of Snackin’ & Yakkin’, Big Ben Kennedy hangs out with Keith Lovas from Graze Craze Mount Pleasant, and the conversation turns into equal parts charcuterie, small business reality, and why a good “perfect bite” can get people talking.
From high-rises to a packed charcuterie grazing board
Keith’s origin story starts far away from crackers and cheese knives. He graduated as a structural engineer from Villanova University and spent about 20 to 25 years in commercial construction. The highlights are the kind of stuff you say casually, then realize it’s wild: 60-story high-rises, intense work in Manhattan, and even time on Yankee Stadium.
That career is also what helped shape how he thinks about boards now: details matter, workflow matters, and if the end result looks effortless, it probably wasn’t. When his family hit a turning point (oldest son heading into teenage territory), they made a big move back to South Carolina. Keith’s wife is originally from Greenville, and the family picked up and relocated with their three boys (13, 10, and 6 at the time). Keith’s line sums up the mindset: “Life’s about adventures.”
Once in the Lowcountry, Keith got the opportunity to help build the Sweetgrass Inn on Isle of Palms, a big hotel for the area. It also happened during COVID, which created one of those “only in 2020” scenes: beaches were shut down, Sullivan’s Island was strict about beach setups, but construction crews still traveled on and off Isle of Palms every day.
Why Graze Craze charcuterie boards are built for real life (and real fridges)
Around 45, Keith had the question many people try to avoid: do I want to do this for the next 25 to 30 years. His wife had been raising the kids, then worked at Carolina Park Elementary, and the new business started as Keith’s idea. It wasn’t a hobby that grew legs. It was a gap he noticed, something people would gladly pay for because they don’t have the time, the patience, or the eye to build it.
In about two years, they built over 600 boards, and even with experience, Keith says this smallest board still takes about an hour. The goal is a “wow” moment when the box opens, and a second wow when people realize it’s not just pretty, it’s loaded.
There’s also a practical design rule that sounds boring until you’ve hosted people: the board has to fit in your fridge. Graze Craze boards are built to slide into a French door refrigerator, even the big ones. That means you can pick it up earlier in the day and not play “balancing act” until guests arrive.
Serving size gets tricky because groups eat differently. Ten guys at poker night is a different universe than a book club. So they describe it as about 10 people in a cocktail-party setting, and they often hear the same feedback: there was food left over, and people were shocked.
For more on board sizes and what’s typically included, Graze Craze lists options on their charcuterie board menu.
Fresh dips, custom boards, and the great cracker debate
Keith and Ben spend a lot of time talking about freshness, because it’s one of Graze Craze’s main promises. They avoid yesterday’s produce (no “old grapes” energy). Carrots get peeled and chopped as needed. Dips are made in small batches, with no preservatives, and they remake them every two days whether the shop is slammed or quiet.
On this episode’s board, the homemade lineup includes roasted beet hummus (beets roasted in-shop), roasted red pepper hummus, cottage cheese dill dip (they avoid mayonnaise-based dips), and a cranberry orange jam. Keith’s point is simple: shortcuts exist everywhere in food, even in fancy restaurants. They work hard not to take them.
Then there’s the never-ending fight: crackers. People complain if there are “too many” (filler), and complain if there aren’t enough (no base). Keith’s advice is refreshingly honest: they’ll prioritize meats, cheeses, produce, and dips, and hosts can keep extra crackers at home if they run out.
His best story is the Christmas Eve phone call. A customer said everything was delicious, but she ran out of crackers, and wanted a full refund. Keith offered to make it right; she asked for her money back anyway. Small business life is glamorous like that.
If you want to check ordering options for the Mount Pleasant shop, Graze Craze shares pickup and delivery details on their Graze Craze Mount Pleasant Linktree.
The “perfect bite” and why grazing gets people talking
Keith isn’t just selling food, he’s selling a type of hangout. Graze Craze is built around grazing, not rushing. Put it on the table, keep the conversation moving, and let people build their own little “bites.”
A few combos from the episode:
- Gluten-free cracker + goat cheese with pistachios and honey + chorizo (sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy).
- Cucumber as the base instead of crackers (a popular move from customer feedback).
- Carrots or asparagus dipped into roasted beet hummus, with a little olive oil on top.
The board also includes five cured meats (like chorizo, a white wine salami, pepperoni they hunted down to meet Northeast standards, soppressata, and capicola) plus cheeses like brie and a jalapeño cheddar that Keith’s wife “spice-tests” to keep it friendly.
All of that ties back to something bigger they talk about: human connection. Keith says charcuterie is meant to be shared, and that shared experience gives people an easy reason to talk, swap bites, and laugh. Ben takes it further, pointing out how much small businesses live and die by reviews, and how free it is to leave a kind word.
If you want more from the show, follow Snackin’ & Yakkin’ on Instagram and check out the bonus content on Snackin’ & Yakkin’ Patreon.
How to order from Graze Craze Mount Pleasant (and what else they make)
Graze Craze Mount Pleasant is at 3373 South Morgan’s Point Road, Mount Pleasant, SC, in the shopping center near Charleston National (the “turn right instead of left to Costco” landmark).
Beyond the main boards, they also make:
- Picnic boxes with snap-on lids for beaches, boats, and pools
- Date night boards for two (Ben’s family was clearly excited about that one)
- Grab-and-graze lunch portions (no sharing, no negotiating)
- Individual charcuterie cups for events where people want their own serving
They also take allergies seriously, including nut-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free options, with separate tools and prep steps when needed.
Conclusion
Keith Lovas didn’t stop building things, he just switched from steel and concrete to meats, cheeses, and a board that disappears by midnight. Graze Craze Mount Pleasant keeps it simple: make it fresh, make it beautiful, and make it easy for people to connect. If you take one idea from this episode, let it be grazing: slow snacks, good talk, and a table that doesn’t force anybody to hurry.
