ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Chef Rob Mason of the Kounter Restaurant in Rock Hill has been named as a South Carolina Chef Ambassador.
Chef Masone is one of three culinary experts selected to represent South Carolina at food festivals, media events and other forums.
The South Carolina Chef Ambassador Program started in 2014 by Governor Nikki Haley to highlight the state’s talented chefs helping to combine two of the state’s biggest industries – tourism and agriculture.
Chef Masone opened the restaurant, Kounter in 2020 in the McCrory’s Five & Dime site, where activists staged a peaceful sit-in protest at the segregated lunch counter in 1961.
Masone says 36-percent of his business comes from Rock Hill with the rest coming from other parts of York County and travelers who want a dinning experience – which is one thing he will be working on as a Chef Ambassador.
Chef Masone said, “It’s not just about the food, it’s the whole package. It’s about the service, the cocktails. People work hard for their money. When you go out it’s expensive, so they want to make sure you are hitting all cylinders when you do this.”
Chef Rob Masone graduated from Northwestern High School in the 90’s, left the area for some time working throughout the Carolinas and even out West.
He came back to Charlotte to open a brewery in 2012 followed by a food truck and then again opened Kounter in 2020.
