Alex and Alison Velasco
Partners in Life and Business
story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER
photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY
When you’re growing up, everyone tells you to marry your best friend. Alex and Alison Velasco took that seriously and within a few minutes of talking to them, you can tell that they truly love each other. While being married, running two businesses, and having a small daughter might overwhelm some couples, it has only made Alex and Alison closer and stronger.
Alison Velasco was born and raised in Florida and attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She graduated with a Hospitality and Management degree. Alison started working for an advertising agency as an account manager for a small team that was in charge of all McDonald’s Restaurants and Co-ops in the Southeast (excluding the South Florida market). After a while working a 9 to 5 job, Alison decided she needed a change. She packed up her car and her dog, and moved to Colorado, where she lived in Breckenridge and worked for Vail Resorts for 4 years. After those four years, she decided to go back to Florida for some overdue family time, which is where she met Alex.
Alex Velasco is also a Florida native from Palm City in South Florida. He attended the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and got a degree in Fire Science Technology and went to Fire School and EMT School in St. Augustine. After that, he worked at a Five Diamond Five Star Resort as the head of outside operations for five years. That is where he and Alison met.
Alison had decided she was going to move back to Colorado and Alex told her he was going to come with her. He had never lived anywhere except Florida, so it was a big move for him. Alex and Alison lived in Denver for about a year before moving into an amazing house in the mountains in Bailey, Colorado. “It was our dream home,” Alison says. They enjoyed every bit of their Colorado life until they decided it was time for something different.
Alex did a lot of research on where they would move to start their new adventure of opening a restaurant and potentially a brewery. They knew they wanted to be closer to their families and Beaufort provided them with that opportunity, as well as being similar to Florida, having the ocean, rivers, surfing, and fishing. “It looked like it would be a good place to call home and start a family.” They moved to Beaufort in January 2019.
Lost Local was set to open around the time that COVID-19 started. They had been preparing for months and were desperate to open. Their food rep, who was a good friend, told them to hold off on opening for a day. The very next day, all the restaurants in South Carolina were shut down. “We were crying,” Alex says as he and Alison laugh about it now. “But our landlords, John Trask and Edward Duke were so gracious to us. They took the risk on us even though we had never opened a restaurant before. Without that, we never would have made it. And they, along with our current landlord, Joe Copper, are mentors and friends to us.”
Alex and Alison were finally able to open Lost Local on Bay Street on June 3, 2020. “If anything could have gone wrong, it did,” Alex says. “We barely made it through the first day.” The first couple of weeks were a little rough, but after that they started to find their rhythm. They found some people to work at Lost Local that fit well, and three of them are still working there now. “They are our friends, our family. They are the people we are hanging out with on the weekends.”
Lost local is another term for a transplant which is an important concept for Alex and Alison. “We may not be from Beaufort, but we live here now and this is our home. So we’re lost locals in a way.” It is a fun play on words and a perfect way of referencing the transience of our community. People come and go, but Beaufort can be home no matter where they are from or how long they’ve been away.
At Lost Local, you will find the freshest ingredients from local farmers and fishermen. Seafood, tacos, tequila, and beer are all up for grabs at Lost Local.
Two and a half years ago, Alex and Alison’s lives shifted when they had their daughter, Winny. Becoming a parent changes everything, your whole worldview. This shift has greatly impacted Alex and Alison’s next business venture ─ a beer garden called Hop Dog. “Lost Local was designed without kids in mind because we did not have a child at the time. At Hop Dog, we have really made up for that,” Alex says.
Hop Dog is a space that you can bring the whole family, including your four-legged family members. As dog lovers, Alex and Alison wanted to provide a space downtown where the whole family can feel comfortable. “If you are a parent, you know the embarrassment of your kid screaming at a restaurant and everyone staring at you,” Alex laughs. At Hop Dog, you do not have to worry about judgment. It is a safe space for your kids and dogs to be themselves and have fun.
Hop Dog is located in downtown Beaufort at 223 Scott Street, next to Rain N’ Bagels. The work to prepare the space for Hop Dog has been an adventure in and of itself. They have done tons of work, both in and outside of the property, including installing a walk-in, bathroom and kitchen. Alex has worked tirelessly over 6 months with the City of Beaufort. They are working on completing the outside of the space. There will be games like Connect 4 for the kids (or adults) to play while enjoying the outside space. Eventually they will be offering live music as well. Alex and Alison would love to see the space be used as a venue for events, whether for a party, wedding reception, or just a family gathering. It would be a more affordable option and a space where you can also have your dogs worry-free. You will enjoy the most delicious hot dogs, frozen cocktails, and choose from draft craft beer options.
Alex, Alison, and Winny rescued Vader, affectionately nicknamed Bubba, from Jasper Animal Rescue Mission, and he has been a dream dog for them. Bubba is the face of Hop Dog; it is his face you see in the logo.
Alex works around 14 hours Wednesday through Saturday and a “half day” on Sunday which he jokes is actually about an 8-hour day. “If it’s open, we are there.” Alison accomplishes a lot of the clerical, behind-the-scenes work while she is at home with Winny.
When they are not running Lost Local and Hop Dog, Alex and Alison enjoy all the beauty that Beaufort has to offer. They are at Hunting Island State Park every single weekend. That is their escape. “We absolutely love it out there. The beach is so unique, there are no buildings around. It is the dream to have Winny grow up going there, where she gets an undamaged view of a natural beach.” They surf, swim, fish, and just enjoy the time with each other. “We go out there and Winny is happy, the dog is happy, and we are happy,” Alison says. And that is about all that matters.
In the future, Alex and Alison hope that they will be able to continue to give back to the community, especially when it comes to serving the dogs in the community. “We have always had a heart for helping animals, and we hope to do that more and more.”
In the meantime, Alex and Alison hope that they are creating a space that people love. “We want people to bring their families to these spaces. We want them to be excited to show off Beaufort and for our restaurants to be two of the places they want to show off because they love it so much and feel so comfortable there.” There might be dogs barking or a kid crying, but that’s part of life. “We’ll just turn up the music,” Alex says.
Many people might not think they could work with their spouse full-time but when asked, Alex says he would not have it any other way. “I do not think I could be with someone that I loved so much and not spend that time with them. You spend more time at work than you do at home, so why not spend that time with the person you love. It is the logical choice. I’m obsessed with Alison,” he says, as Alison laughs. While they have had some tough days over the last few years, they have made it through, and Alison says, “It is only up from here.”
Check out the restaurants’ websites to learn more about their hours and to view the mouth-watering menus: www.lostlocal.com and www.hopdogsc.com.
