Together, they founded Pergola in Greenville, SC to bring those passions together in a casual upscale, farm-to-table neighborhood restaurant rooted in community.
Leigha and Nelson De Hoyos believe
great restaurants are built on two things:
Born in New York City and raised in Colombia, South America, Nelson’s international relationship with food reflects his family’s coastal roots in Cartagena and his mother’s farm-to-table upbringing. On his mother’s family farm, Nelson was immersed in growing, raising, and butchering the food that would be served at his family’s dinner table.
After attending culinary school in Bogotá, De Hoyos returned to the states in the late 2000s, putting his passion for cooking to use and beginning his culinary career in Greenville, SC.
Nelson spent nearly a decade with the Halls Chophouse Management Group, working across Greenville, Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee. During this time, he oversaw the opening of Halls Chophouse Columbia, contributing to the revitalization of Main Street Columbia.
In 2022, Nelson expanded his career into restaurant partnership and consulting, providing leadership on the development, renovation, and operations of several Greenville-area restaurants.
Nelson’s newest project, Pergola, is a casual, upscale, farm-to-table concept situated between North Main and Cherrydale, and highlights his global perspective, and relationship with regional farms and purveyors.
Leigha has been in the wedding and events industry for over a decade, managing venues, assisting event planners and coordinating weddings for clients of her own. Along her event industry journey, floral freelancing fell happily into her lap.
For almost ten years, Leigha has been involved in the floral side of the events world, from processing flowers and organizing tablescape decor, to executing large scale event florals and designing compote arrangements and delicate boutonnieres.
Leigha enjoys all parts of floral creativity, though she finds herself happiest at the top of a ladder building impactful, focal floral installations with her fellow floral enthusiasts and event industry friends.
Brian grew up in Surfside Beach, SC where he started working in hospitality at 16 years old. A proud Gamecock, he worked his way up the ranks in Columbia’s restaurant scene in every position, eventually becoming part of the opening wine management team at Halls Chophouse in Columbia, where Chef Nelson and Brian first met.
Wanting to hone his wine expertise, Brian ventured West to sunny California working a harvest in 2018 at the Hanzell winery, before moving to Napa Valley full time in 2021.
During his time there he has worked and learned from Master Sommeliers and Michelin starred chefs while achieving an Advanced Sommelier certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2024.
Currently working at Michelin starred Press in Saint Helena, CA, he is a Master Sommelier candidate for 2027 and enjoys working on his short game at the golf course when not buried in wine maps and flash cards.
