For David Meunier, the restaurant business has never simply been about what is served on the plate. Creating delicious food is a passion for him, but it is also about transforming spaces and giving people another reason to enjoy the city around them.
That philosophy has followed Meunier across decades, continents and 54 restaurant openings, most recently La Scuderia in Aiken.
Meunier grew up in Switzerland near Burgundy, surrounded by food and hospitality. His father owned restaurants, and by 15, Meunier was attending culinary school in Switzerland and France. He wanted to own the restaurant, shape the concept and create the experience.
At 18, he opened his first restaurant in 1984.
His career eventually took him through Los Angeles for three years, Miami for twenty-two and New York for three. He developed a reputation for seeing potential in overlooked properties, describing his approach as turning eyesores into assets.
“I can look at a neglected building or property and see something different from what is physically in front of me,” Meunier says. “I’m interested in what it could become.”
Aiken entered his life through horses. A polo connection brought him to the area, and in 2019 he purchased his first property here. What began as an interest in 10 acres became 100, and his investment continued to expand.
Today, Meunier’s restaurant footprint in Aiken includes La Parisienne, Neon Fig and La Scuderia. For Meunier, each restaurant is intended to offer something different while contributing to the broader dining culture he hopes Aiken can build.
After losing his son, Meunier says his perspective changed dramatically. Time felt more precious, and his desire to build things with meaning intensified. This is what largely motivated him to help out Neon Fig when they hit a rough patch and were about to close.
He describes himself simply: blunt, candid and direct.
“I’ve never been very good at pretending to be somebody I’m not,” he says.
That directness can make him demanding. He expects a great deal from others but says he expects even more from himself. He points to friendships that have lasted decades and employees who have worked alongside him for 20 or 25 years.
“If somebody is loyal, works hard and does what they say they’re going to do, I have tremendous respect for that person,” he says. “I will go to the moon for them.”
His drive was not built only through success. Meunier remembers periods when money was scarce. In 1993, he recalls having to choose between food for his dog and cigarettes for himself. Two years later, with his wife six months pregnant, he checked an ATM on Sunset Boulevard and discovered they had only $72 left.
Today, those memories shape how he views what he has built. He and his wife raised five children while building businesses through financial uncertainty, successes and losses.
“I don’t take what I have today for granted,” he says.
After his son’s death, Meunier established a foundation that helps families who have lost a child, assisting with financial burdens that arrive alongside unimaginable grief. He has also worked with B.R.A.K.E.S., Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe, an organization created after its founder lost two sons in a car crash. Through that work, approximately 400 young drivers received advanced defensive-driving education last year.
His newest restaurant, La Scuderia, is part of a larger vision built around one question he asks himself: What is Aiken missing?
Rather than duplicate concepts already thriving in town, Meunier wants to introduce spaces that feel distinct. Upcoming plans include La Mer, focused on fish and seafood; Las Vacas Gordas, an Argentinian-inspired steakhouse; and Fox and Hound, envisioned as a true English pub.
He does not see those restaurants simply as additional competition. He sees them as additional reasons for people to choose Aiken.
“Instead of fighting over the existing pie, we can make the pie bigger,” he says.
Aiken is already known for its equestrian culture, historic charm and growing healthcare presence. Meunier believes food can become another part of its identity. The stronger and more varied the restaurant scene becomes, he says, the more likely visitors are to make Aiken a destination.
They may come for dinner, he says, but then shop downtown, attend an event, stay overnight and return with friends.
That broader thinking is where Meunier’s restaurant experience and real estate background meet. He is interested not only in what happens inside a building, but what it contributes to the surrounding community.
La Parisienne, Neon Fig and La Scuderia are the current expression of that philosophy, while La Mer, Las Vacas Gordas and Fox and Hound represent what he hopes comes next. Together, they reflect his effort to give residents more choices and visitors more reasons to stay.
There is also a personal motive.
“I want to enjoy the city where I live,” Meunier says. “I want my wife, my family and my friends to have interesting places to go.”
After decades in hospitality and development, Meunier says he is motivated by a need to create, improve and leave something better than he found it.
His motto remains uncomplicated: go big or go home.
It is a phrase that captures both his personality and his approach to Aiken. He knows not every project will work and not every person will agree with him. But he would rather think ambitiously, take a chance and learn from failure than wonder what might have happened if he had not tried.
“If years from now someone can look at a building, a restaurant, a neighborhood or a part of Aiken and say, ‘That place is better than it was before,’” Meunier says, “I’ll be happy with that.”
“I can look at a neglected building or property and see something different from what is physically in front of me,” Meunier says.
“Instead of fighting over the existing pie, we can make the pie bigger,” he says.