It was a little early in the evening for His Majesty to arrive.
King George III usually shows up about 20 minutes into a 7 p.m. performance of “Hamilton” to sing confidently to his rebelling colonial subjects that they’ll be “back like before” and that he’ll “fight the fight and win the war.”
He also typically shows up on stage in big concert halls, not during conservative political gatherings at happy hour in small-town Southern lunch establishments.
But he was there at Momma Rabbit’s Nibbles and Sips in Lexington the first Friday of April, ably and enthusiastically portrayed by John Allen.
Allen is the restaurant’s co-owner and catering manager, as well as the third vice chair of the Lexington County Republican Party and the emcee of the restaurant’s monthly Freedom Friday events. Held the first Friday evening of each month, the increasingly popular and influential evenings give attendees the chance to enjoy a meal and hear from local politicians and community leaders who lean to the right of the political spectrum.
Decked in full wig and plumage as the 1700s British king, Allen quibbled playfully with his sister and co-owner Sarah Grace Allen before his performance of “You’ll Be Back,” pitched in this instance as a reflection of the way the American government under President Joe Biden treats its citizens.
“I’ve come to collect my subjects and my taxes,” the king said.
“I’m pretty sure your taxes are in Ukraine,” Sarah Grace replied.
Sitting down to talk later in the month, the two siblings said fun inclusions like the musical finale to April’s Freedom Friday are key to an atmosphere where people come to listen with an open mind. Division and conflict run rampant in American politics right now, even among people coming at things from a similar point of view. Freedom Friday, they said, is intended as an antidote.
“People can come get a beer, get a plate of chicken pot pie and just talk about stuff,” John said. “We’re in such a state in our country right now where there’s just so much hostility. Everybody on all sides, they’re just angry all the time. We want it to be a place where it really does have a familial feel. And so if one time we sing a song or do something like that, it’s fun. People are enjoying it. They feel great.”
And they hear from folks in key roles, who come to talk about how they’re promoting conservative values. At that April meeting, speakers included candidates for Lexington County Council and the S.C. House of Representatives along with sitting politicians seeking reelection, such as County Councilwoman Charli Wessinger and state Rep. Jay Kilmartin. There was also Michael Reed, who prints and edits the Lexington County newspaper The Standard, which touts itself as delivering “real news and conservative views.”
Started last year, Freedom Fridays are now often full to bursting, with crowds in excess of 100 filling the small restaurant located along Sunset Boulevard across the street from Target. The growth of the event is emblematic of both the Allen family’s own increasing influence on Lexington politics and a new swell of conservative voices that have a lot to say about where the county, state and country are headed.
“We are Christian conservatives,” Sarah Grace said. “And we inspire a lot of other fellow Christian conservatives who are finding their voice.”
Speaking up
Sarah Grace Allen and her six brothers, a tight-knit crew who grew up homeschooled in the Irmo area, opened their restaurant in 2016, leaning on the University of South Carolina culinary degrees earned by both her and brother Will Allen along with the inheritances given to each of the siblings by their grandmother, the eponymous Momma Rabbit.
Their benefactor watches over the restaurant, beaming from an old photo on the wall.
COVID-19 and the shutdown that followed, while briefer in South Carolina than elsewhere, shocked the Allens into paying greater attention to the politics impacting both their business and their town.
“We started getting more and more involved just in community affairs and kind of became more involved politically when the shutdowns happened because we saw how much it was affecting local businesses,” Sarah Grace said.
Momma Rabbit’s did OK during the pandemic because it could still sell its freezer meals, but other restaurants and businesses were hit hard.
Sarah Grace wrote a letter to the town of Lexington opposing a mask mandate, which further kickstarted the family to get vocal.
“In response to my letter of concern was a threat from one of the Town Council members, and she was basically saying, ‘I’m going to tell everyone that you don’t agree with masks, which I wasn’t even saying. I was just like, ‘I’m concerned about mandating it,’” Sarah Grace added. “I was like, ‘You’re an elected official responding to a concerned citizen with a threat.’ And that was kind of the beginning of when we started getting more involved because it was like, ‘Why is nobody standing up?’
“But I think in Lexington, we realized systems had been in place for a while. I feel like it was kind of across the country, everyone was just like, ‘This is how it goes.’ And then when something as big as this happens, you know, COVID happened, everyone was starting to wake up, like wait, ‘What’s happening here?’”
Waking up and speaking up hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In addition to the Allens causing friction with some in the community with their positions, Sarah Grace caught flack for attending the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol; she has maintained she didn’t take part in the trespassing or violence that followed.
But the family — Sarah Grace, John and Will, especially — have become some of the Midlands’ most visible young Christian conservatives.
Sarah Grace, 35, has gone from social media posts and starting a website and blog to broadcasting her views via beauty pageantry, winning the title of Miss SC for America for 2023 (dressing as “Lady LiberTEA” during the national finals).
Amid a schism that saw the Lexington County Republican Party’s previous chair removed, John, 25, was asked to step into his leadership role with the group.
And in November of last year, Will, 35, was elected to Lexington Town Council.
They were all involved at the April Freedom Friday. John introduced speakers and offered jokes and funny anecdotes before his musical performance. Sarah Grace worked behind the bar. Will delivered the opening prayer in a “Jesus Is King” ball cap, which he wears frequently in a variety of colors.
Will said his family pushed him to run for council to put a good, strong conservative voice in the seat. But he pointed to an incident where a customer ranted at a 15-year-old back-of-house employee at the restaurant for wearing a jokingly branded “Make America Lit Again” hat as galvanizing his need to get vocal and get involved.
“I think people, as they grow in their understanding, they get more and more comfortable — not in an obnoxious way, we don’t poke people in the eye or that sort of thing,” he said. “We do separate it from the restaurant (social media) page, like the restaurant page doesn’t get overly political, but everybody knows where we’re coming from. And of course, when COVID happened, and we weren’t forcing guests to wear masks and all that sort of thing, we got canceled, and we went viral. And everybody was giving us one-star reviews. The more and more we walked in it, the more and more it just built, we just said, ‘You know what? We’re going to trust the Lord. And if we lose our company, it’s in the Lord’s hands.’”
The doggedness with which the Allens pursue their beliefs has garnered them a reputation among some for being contentious.
But Gavin Smith, a conservative political consultant who was elected to Lexington Town Council a few months before Will, pushed back on that reputation. He doesn’t always agree with the Allens, but he commended them for finding the power of their voice.
“Aren’t we all a little contentious? I know I certainly can be at times,” Smith said. “Sometimes I think the world has become just a little too sensitive. I very much appreciate their willingness to speak their mind. I think that political correctness doesn’t always equal progress. But more times than not, when people stand up and use their voice and speak truth to power, results are a lot easier to achieve. And I think that the Allens have done a really great job of doing that.”
Wielding power?
Freedom Friday and the Allens’ other visible efforts to get people involved in local politics have become something of a beacon for other conservatives who experienced a similar awakening during COVID.
Debbie Haim, the first vice chair of the Lexington County Republican Party, was at that April Freedom Friday, helping to get people checked in at the door. She said she was a stay-at-home mom who mostly kept to herself, but she was pushed to get more involved in politics when, in her view, governments took advantage of COVID to take control of things she believed were beyond their purview.
“That made me say, ‘Wait a second, the decisions that they make impact me more than I realized,’” Haim said. “And I appreciate the Allens for using their voice. I think that energy rubs off on other people and makes other people feel more empowered to use their voice. They realize their thoughts aren’t just their own, but a lot of other people share those thoughts. And coming together with more people just amplifies that voice and amplifies that message, and that is appealing and attractive to people.”
Mark Weber, the chair of the Lexington County Republican Party, pointed to the swelling crowds at Freedom Friday as indicative of the increase in people wanting to talk, listen and get involved in local politics and the Allens’ ability to pull those people together.
“They’re having conversations. They’re not wallflowers. They’re people that speak their mind, and people appreciate that, they appreciate that honesty, that forthrightness,” Weber said. “And so I think they think that causes people to open up and have conversations with them.”
“It’s blown up,” he added of Freedom Friday. “It’s been huge.”
Chris Smith, a Republican running in next week’s primary for S.C. Senate in District 26, wasn’t a speaker at the April First Friday but said he thought it was important to still come by and interact with the crowd.
“It’s ... a platform for somebody like me who’s running for office to network and also speak about my platform and the things that I see that need correcting,” he said.
“It’s a very, very open, very friendly, very hospitable environment,” Smith added.
Wessinger, the Lexington County councilwoman who spoke in April and who faces a challenge for her seat in next week’s primary, said Freedom Friday is a great forum — if you align with the views of the people in attendance.
“It depends on the philosophy of the politicians,” she said. “Not everybody’s going to agree with that group. I’m big on not being a hypocrite. So if you don’t agree with that, don’t use that as a platform to boost yourself. If you agree with it, go for it. Enjoy. But don’t don’t be a hypocrite and don’t use that platform just to get in front of people just to promote yourself.”
While their influence continues to grow, the Allens said they don’t view themselves as having political power.
“There’s absolutely no power,” John said. “It’s being vocal about what you care about. Everybody should do it. It’s not power.”
“I don’t view it as power in any way, shape or form,” Sarah Grace said. “I feel like we have built trust with the community. And there’s a lot of responsibility in that. It’s not a burden or heavy because I know I’m always going to be the same me. I’m honest. ... But with that responsibility, there is more of a sense of knowing that a lot of people trust what we say, and so it is important for us to speak up.”
