‘Bit of a ghost town vibe:’ South of the Border visitors say attraction’s upgrades are much needed

DILLON COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - First-time and repeat visitors to South Carolina’s most iconic roadside attraction say it could use some upgrades.

Thankfully for them, South of the Border in Dillon County is.

“We would see the billboards, 300 miles, 299 miles, 298 and then it’s like ‘Oh my God, they think this place is Disneyland’ and then you come here and you go ‘Okay, it’s something different,’” visitor Frank Malia said.

Renovations are currently underway at the rest stop and attraction off Interstate 95. They’ve already torn down what was an ice cream shop and a T-shirt store to make way for some of the new upgrades.

They’ve even installed some electric vehicle charging stations so travelers can still recharge and get back on the road.

Another visitor, August Andrews, says this is much needed.

“Especially down here in the Carolina’s we don’t have enough of those EV charging stations. so that’ll definitely get a lot more people to stop here and then stay here for a little bit too,” Andrews said.

Even mascot Pedro’s iconic sombrero is getting fixed up and renovated too, along with the arcade underneath.

“Kind of heard from friends and stuff that it was a little bit of a ghost town type vibe,” said Andrews. “And yeah, [it] definitely delivered,” said Andrews.

WMBF News has not been able to confirm a timeline for the project’s completion and has requested plans for the new buildings and a complete list of changes.

Copyright 2021 WMBF. All rights reserved.