Restaurant group creates ‘Dining District’ in Surfside Beach
SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - From a new pier to new restaurants, the town of Surfside Beach has a lot planned along their stretch of Ocean Boulevard in 2022.
“We have a whole lot of stuff going on right now,” said Mayor Bob Hellyer.
In 2019, Nate Anderson with Dining and Design pitched to the town council the concept of a “Dining District” featuring three locally-owned restaurants right by the ocean and pier.
Richie Huggins, Jeremy Church and Nate Anderson all grew up in the Myrtle Beach area and felt Surfside Beach was the best location to see this idea come to life.
“Surfside deserves a Dining District like this. We don’t want people having to drive down Highway 17 in the middle of summer fighting traffic,” said Huggins.
The group’s first restaurant to open was Pizza Hyena in 2019, followed by the Gracious Pig which opened this year.
“This area is going to be phenomenal and it’s going to be a tourism destination,” said Hellyer
It’s not just tourists looking for new places to eat, locals are what keep these places up and running in the off-season.
Phil Murdock with Surfside Beach Realty said these days buyers and renters love the idea of walkability.
“That is the central core of Surfside and that is exactly where you want to have it because it’s equal distance of north and south about 16 blocks,” said Murdock.
Along with the completion of the pier in September, Dining and Design will also open their third restaurant this spring.
Chimichanga Llama will sit next to the Gracious Pig and offer a southwestern taste to the Surfside area.
“Our foundation is right here in Surfside Beach and we are very proud of that,” said Huggins.
As for what could be next for the growing town of Surfside Beach.
“We do have some issues and one of those is parking which we plan to tackle at our next meeting in January,” said Hellyer.
Hellyer said he hopes the pier will be complete between August and September of 2022.
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