Myrtle Beach boardwalk inspires plans for off-season

As streams of tourists closed their summer homes and piled onto the highways leading back to locations unknown Monday, the businesses in downtown Myrtle Beach steadied themselves for the start of the off-season, when business can lull to a trickle of locals, snowbirds and occasional weekenders.

Labor Day has traditionally signaled the unofficial last day of the summer season for area businesses, but the atmosphere this Labor Day was more hopeful. Business owners chattered about plans to bring locals back to the beach and to stay open longer hours than in previous off-seasons - all because of the added business and foot traffic brought in by the city's new boardwalk.

"We get a lot of people who are out walking the boardwalk who stop in and get their morning coffee and include us as part of the routine," said DeAnn Sarver, owner of Boardwalk Coffee House. "We do get people from the hotels and those going to the beach, but we also get some locals. That's the crowd we're looking forward to reaching. We've added an upstairs space for meetings or even baby showers or parties. We're planning on staying open seven days a week and being open every day at 8 a.m."

Monday afternoon, the shop saw tourists seeking cold treats to stave off the sun and the sand and locals, including college students looking for caffeine and a sunny spot to outline this week's reading. Many shop owners have been using the boardwalk as an anchor for events and regular entertainment options to bring in locals and tourists alike.

Sarver and her husband opened the coffee shop Memorial Day weekend because of the boardwalk, she said. The couple, along with the owners of the Ocean Front Bar and Grill, also on Ninth Avenue, are sponsoring an event Thursday to offer samples of their wares, live music and an open invitation to locals to come back to the beach and frequent the boardwalk in its first off-season.

The boardwalk opened for business in May and has had some positive effects on traffic for many of the businesses along its path and farther into the unofficial downtown. The final numbers aren't in quite yet, said David Sebok, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corp., but there have been some signs that point to an increase in business and the potential for more off-season traffic.

"The public parking meters are running more than 17 percent over last year. That is an indication that more people are frequenting downtown," Sebok said. "I don't know how many people that equates to, but if the price and the hours of operation for the meters hasn't changed, it's likely a positive indicator."

Sebok said he has heard several business owners talking about reducing their hours less this year for the off-season, or staying open longer into the off-season. The city is waiting to see hard numbers for how many businesses follow through with those plans.

"The good news is the boardwalk is acting as a catalyst for these additional off-season activities," Sebok said. "Once those occur, we'll be able to evaluate their economic impact. And as we go into September and October, we'll be observing business along the boardwalk. Once we get through the whole year, the city will really be able to look at that data and other indicators to draw some larger overall conclusions about the impact the boardwalk has really had."

Bill Walls, owner of Boardwalk Bill's Bar and Grill, is one of the business owners talking about extending his hours.

"I used to go to four days a week in December, but this year I'm going to stay open seven days a week," he said. "This is the first time the locals have been back to the beach since they closed the Pavilion. The boardwalk has really brought a good influx of people, both locals and tourists."