Theater expected to boost business at Murrells Inlet mall

MURRELLS INLET -- The curtain will rise next month on what officials hope will be the main attraction at Inlet Square Mall.

Crews are putting the final features on the 11-screen Frank Theatre and accompanying bowling alley and arcade, dubbed Revolution Family Entertainment Center. The 23,593-square-foot complex will open in June, though a specific date hasn't yet been set, said Kali Karellas, sales and promotional director for Frank Theatres.

"Everybody is moving on fast forward to get it open," she said. "It will really offer a fresh face to the mall."

There's a lot riding on this project, much more than just catching the hottest summer flicks. Mall officials are banking on it bringing business to the entire mall and helping to lure more stores, while some residents say having a south-end theater will save them the drive up U.S. 17 to Myrtle Beach.

Mall officials and store owners say the theater will be the ticket that lures shoppers back to a mall aiming to return to its long-lost glory days before bankruptcy and a stalled renovation sent the center downward.

"You could probably say we are putting all our eggs in one basket," said Bill Bernschein, general manager and owner of Myrtle Beach Golf Shop, which opened at the mall in December. "We are really hoping it will get a bunch of people out here."

The mall's management office is getting at least 20 calls a day from folks asking when the theater will open, mall general manager Suzanne Oden said. Many south-enders say they like the idea of having a theater closer to them; the closest one now is at least a dozen miles away at The Market Common in Myrtle Beach.

"It's just nonstop right now. The locals are just chomping at the bits," Oden said. "I think it will be the main event down here."

Kiosks for selling tickets

While the locals look forward to the debut, crews were busy last week installing sheetrock and electrical transformers and putting up wallpaper.

The entertainment complex will have 11 screens, each with stadium seating; 16 bowling lanes; arcade games; a Starlight Cafe that serves beer and wine and areas for private parties.

Among the work left to do: install the theater seats and fixtures and painting.

"Two weeks - this place will look a lot different," Pete Johnson of Mashburn Construction said last week, standing in what will be the bowling area.

Movie-goers will buy their tickets from kiosks instead of a person on the other side of a ticket window, though workers will be on hand in case ticket buyers get stuck at the machines. The kiosks will be lined up inside the mall by the theater and at the theater's entrance from the parking lot.

"It won't be the hands-on, back in the day when we hand you a ticket," Karellas said.

At the bowling lanes, bumpers will pop up to help kids instead of requiring workers to lug them to the appropriate lane.

"If it's the latest and greatest, it's here," Oden said.

Bowling leagues are in the works, and the complex also wants to be a go-to spot for birthday, bachelorette or other parties, Karellas said.

"It is a very large part of what we do," she said.

Foot traffic welcome

Owners of stores in the mall aren't partying just yet.

Many say business is slow, but they've opened stores in recent months or stuck with it knowing the theater was on its way.

"Everyone is looking forward to it," said Palma Nativo, owner of Nina Jewelry Boutique, which opened at the mall in November. "We're saying, 'Come on already. Open. We want to see some traffic in here.'"

Nativo and other store owners say the theater complex will attract more people to the mall, which in turn will attract more stores. The mall has 23 stores, including Belk, J.C. Penney Co., Stein Mart and Chef Smitty's South, which opened four months ago and was the first eatery in the former food court in years.

But business has been slow at Chef Smitty's South, very different from its other location, in Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach, co-owner Gregg Smith said. Like other store owners, he's holding out hope for what the theater can do.

"Everybody's waiting for that," he said.

Smith said the mall needs some unique stores, while Nativo wants to see some chain retailers move in, including Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch.

"I hope a lot more businesses that are name brand will want to come back here.

"That's what we need so the mall will look alive again," Nativo said. "The mall is going to bounce back."

Mall ready for comeback

Mall officials say the theater and entertainment complex will give the mall the hook it needs to rebound.

The mall has had a rough few years, falling into bankruptcy that stalled a mall renovation mid-way through. Wires hung from open ceilings, and parts of a torn-up floor were blocked with yellow tape for months.

The mall emerged from bankruptcy with new owners, and the renovation - including skylights, new floors, bolder colors and a new center court area - were finally finished last year.

Inlet Square is poised for a comeback, said Bill Powell, who moved to the area 13 years ago and is the leader of the mall's walking club.

"When I first came here, this was the place to be, but we've had ups and downs," he said. "It looked like a third world country [when the renovation stalled]. But look at it now. I think this is going to be great."

Store owners and mall regulars said the theater could help lure back the shoppers who gave up on the mall during the rough years.

"It's a great thing that it is coming," said Mary Pinter of Socastee, who was returning shoes that didn't fit Thursday. "It will bring people in. I hope [the mall] stays. It's so convenient."

Myrtle Beach Golf Shop moved to the mall because it would save its many south-end customers from driving to its store in Myrtle Beach Mall, Bernschein said. "They might as well be driving to New Hampshire" to get from the south end to Myrtle Beach Mall near North Myrtle Beach, he said.

Business was good in December, but slow in January and February, he said. But he's anxious to see the effect the theater will have on the mall and his business.

"We're optimistic that with the opening of the theater, we will see some increased activity," Bernschein said. "And that's what everybody in this mall needs."