MAMEEM & MAUDIE
Where a Family Legacy Brings Community Together
story by HEATHER STEINBERGER photos by RICHARD STEINBERGER
It’s a bright spring morning in Beaufort, and Mameem & Maudie is full of motion. Customers call out warm greetings to the staff behind the counter, where a barista whips up coffee drinks and delicious smells drift across the cafe from the kitchen.
Beyond the main cafe is a retail store filled with clothing, jewelry, home decor and gift items, as well as several seating nooks that beckon those with a laptop or a good book. At the far end of this space, beneath a swirling painted octopus, three women sit together at a long wooden table.
Leslye Tapp, Sherry Johnston and Morgan Johnston talk the way families do, laughing and finishing each other’s sentences. This feels less like an interview and more like being invited to sit at someone’s dining room table.
That’s because Mameem & Maudie, the relaxed eatery and unique retail shop on Lady’s Island known for its soups, sandwiches, milkshakes — and coffee drinks, is a family business in the truest sense.
Twin sisters Leslye and Sherry co-own the business, along with Sherry’s daughter Morgan and their husbands, Billy and Chris. Their brother, Trey, has a screen-printing business that produces popular store items, such as T-shirts, bags, and notecards.
The name itself reaches back generations. Mameem (pronounced Mah-meem) and Maudie were the sisters’ great-grandmother and great-aunt, and they made quite an impression on the sisters as little girls in the 1960s and ‘70s.
“They were our favorites,” Leslye says. “Mameem was the best cook, and she would give us treats like ice cream with Oreos and warm chocolate syrup. We looked so forward to going, and we loved how it felt to be with them.”
Leslye and Sherry grew up with their brother and two sisters in Ridgeland, where their father had a dental practice. In 1965, he purchased property on Hilton Head Island, when the island was still largely undeveloped.
“Mameem and Maudie loaned him the money to buy it,” Leslye says. “The family thought he was crazy.”
“There was nothing out there back then,” Sherry adds.
Their father also was an avid sailor, owning Sunfish, Force 5 and Morgan sailboats over the years. So, in addition to spending their summers on Hilton Head, the children also sailed over to the Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club just about every weekend.
“And we were the two in the family who weren’t sailors,” Sherry says, smiling.
As they grew to adulthood, life took the twins away from the Lowcountry. Leslye attended the University of South Carolina, married, and then spent the next 30 years in Columbia. She and her husband worked in retail at competing department stores.
Sherry went to Berry College in Roma, Georgia, and settled in Atlanta, where she and her husband were part of his father’s dental group practice. Later, Morgan attended the University of North Georgia and earned a degree in biology with minors in religion and dance.
By the mid-2010s, everyone was ready for a change. Sherry and Chris sold their dental practice, Leslye and Billy stepped away from their retail positions, and Morgan wasn’t quite sure what to do after her college graduation.
All three women felt something pulling them back to coastal South Carolina. One day in 2014, Sherry and Morgan visited Old Town Bluffton, and an idea took shape: Perhaps they could open a retail shop in the village, something colorful and quirky, with the welcoming feel they remembered from Mameem and Maudie.
The families joined forces, and a year later, they opened Mameem & Maudie on Lawton Street in Bluffton. They were eager to expand beyond retail and add a cafe, but they quickly learned that zoning regulations would make that impossible.
“We bought the building, and it was rezoned 45 days later,” Sherry explains. “We weren’t allowed to open a cafe on a side street.”
So they adapted, opening a walk-up window to serve ice cream, shaved ice and milkshakes—sweet treats which certainly would have had Mameem’s and Maudie’s approval. They called it Crabby’s Corner.
“The ice cream window was fun, especially for the kids,” Leslye says. “We were right across the street from a park.”
That workaround turned into an education. They needed to scoop the ice cream in an off-site commercial kitchen to comply with regulations, and that exposure introduced them to the behind-the-scenes realities of running a restaurant.
Determined to realize their dream of cafe ownership, they turned to a second location in Savannah where they could serve sandwiches, soups and salads. Unfortunately, the location wasn’t the right fit, and they closed the operation in 2019.
Then word filtered down through the family network that Groucho’s Deli on Sea Island Parkway, just across the Woods Memorial Bridge from downtown Beaufort, abruptly shut its doors that fall. The sisters thought this might be the right place at the right time for their cafe business, but Morgan says her first thought was, no.
“We had just closed Savannah,” she says with a laugh. “That taught me to manage a restaurant, but it was tough working 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., six days a week. I was ready to be done!”
Understanding what they were stepping into, the families decided to move forward anyway. They opened Mameem & Maudie on Lady’s Island in January 2020, just weeks before the Covid pandemic changed everything.
They pivoted again, this time to curbside service. What could have been a major setback became, in some ways, a softer entry point into the food business.
“We did curbside for a while, and then we opened up our patio seating,” Morgan says. “We had picnic tables out there.”
They also began writing inspirational messages on customers’ bags. Morgan noticed that each message seemed to have a profound impact during such an uncertain time.
“That was the coolest thing, sharing messages from Scripture,” she says. “It was wonderful to see the word of the Lord move. Customers told us how much the messages meant to them, and how they saved and shared them. We still do it today; our employees can share Scripture or positive messages, whatever moves them.”
As in any business, there were early missteps. For one, according to Leslye, they started with too many children’s clothes.
“We love kids, so we went too heavy in that direction at first,” she says. “That hurt us a little, starting off, but we figured out the right balance. We remain family-oriented, and we want to make sure our price points are accessible to all.”
They also found they needed to focus on just one location. They closed their Bluffton store and Crabby’s Corner in 2021, and over time, they found their rhythm — not just in what they offer, but in how they work together.
Sherry focuses on product development and food preparation, Leslye handles the retail buying and the bookkeeping, and Morgan manages daily operations. Sherry’s husband, Chris, is in charge of human resources and customer service.
When Sherry calls Leslye a visionary, her sister protests.
“I’m not a foodie, they are,” she says, gesturing at her sister and niece. “Sherry’s the real creative. We complement each other. We think totally differently.”
“You’re each unique,” Morgan says, smiling. “You say the same things, just in a different way.”
“We drive Morgan crazy,” Leslye says as the table erupts in laughter.
For Morgan, working alongside her mother and aunt has brought its own kind of perspective. It also has brought gratitude.
“It’s so helpful to be with my family in a business like this,” she says. “There are generational things that show up. I get to witness that, and I get to learn more about myself. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Her connections with customers and staff have become the best part of the job. She says she enjoys sharing her faith and having conversations with people from other walks of life.
“The day-to-day grind can be hard, and unkind reviews can feel so personal because this is our baby,” she admits. “Fortunately, we don’t get many of those, and I’m getting better at managing any issues that come our way.”
There are trade-offs with this sort of business. When asked what their greatest challenges are, the sisters are thoughtful, and Morgan offers an answer for them.
“I know what your lows are, both of you,” she says. “Not being able to spend time with your families.”
The sisters have 10 grandchildren between them. Sherry nods, adding, “And the older you get, creativity feels more difficult.”
You wouldn’t know it. Step inside Mameem & Maudie, and you’ll find a space that is vibrant, warm and a little whimsical, with countless small details that reward a second look. Even the light fixtures seem like art, and the artwork itself feels alive.
That, too, has been a family affair. Sherry’s middle daughter, Danielle, created the large fish and octopus murals that seem to dance across the walls.
“And Leslye’s daughter Regan helped us get started,” Morgan says. “She, my dad and I cleaned this place up, and she’s always willing to help if we’re short-handed.”
The three women marvel at how far they’ve come in just 11 years. And while the Lowcountry has changed significantly from what it was 50 years ago, they say Beaufort has held onto its hometown charm.
“Everywhere else feels more transient,” Morgan explains. “In Bluffton, we got mostly tourists and transplants who were only here for part of the year. But in Beaufort, we get locals.”
Most of Mameem & Maudie’s clients are regulars. Tuesdays are busy with women’s and men’s groups, the Bible study groups come on Fridays, and throughout the week, quite a few people bring their computers so they can work a little while they enjoy coffee or a meal.
“People really have embraced us here,” Sherry says, and after a pause, Morgan adds, “This is my favorite place in the Lowcountry.”
As the conversation continues, looping between memories and to-do lists and laughter, the pace in the cafe picks up. More customers file through the doors for a late breakfast or caffeine fix, greeting staff members by name.
“We want people to feel comfortable here,” Morgan says. “Like Mameem and Maudie would have made them feel.”
For more information about Mameem & Maudie, or to place an order with the cafe and icery, visit mameemandmaudie.com.
