Thursday, Jan. 05, 2012

Local Restaurant Notes

Coccadott's Cake Shop is scheduled to open in Myrtle Beach on March 1. Photo by Becky Billingsley for Weekly Surge.

 

•  Coccadotts Cake Shop (http://coccadotts.com), a bakery in Albany, N.Y., that was featured in August on the Food Network show “Cupcake Wars” is scheduled to open March 1 near the new Target store under construction at the south end of Myrtle Beach/Surfside Beach area. On Jan. 1, bakery partners Rachel Cocca-Dott and Matt O’Connor, plus Dott’s stepmother, Michelle Cocca, and Cocca-Dott’s husband, Luke Dott, were starting to renovate the space they leased at 106 Sayebrook Parkway, next to Atlanta Bread Company near the intersection of S.C. 544 and U.S. 17 Bypass. Cocca-Dott and O’Connor opened the Albany Coccadotts in 2007. The company makes tiered wedding cakes, themed cakes, cookies and more than 30 types of cupcakes with fillings such as white chocolate, cappuccino, hazelnut, lemon curd, black cherry, pineapple custard, fudge, cannoli cheese and unlimited flavors of buttercream.

•  Big Daddy’s Roadhouse Grill (http://bigdaddysroadhousegrill.com) at 1610 S. King’s Highway in Myrtle Beach is having a meal deal from Jan. 12-22 when a 10-ounce Ribeye Steak with one side dish, bread and a salad is $17. Big Daddy’s winter hours are 4-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and the phone number is 448-3819.

•  Starting Tuesday and through the end of January, the three Grand Strand locations of T.G.I. Friday’s are offering $10 meals where diners get to choose three dishes from lists of six appetizers, nine entrees and three desserts. T.G.I. Friday’s is at 500 U.S. 17 N., North Myrtle Beach, 663-3333; 7515 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, 497-8888; and 3202 U.S. 17, Murrells Inlet, 651-8888.

•  Nosh (http://noshpi.com) at 10880 Ocean Highway in Pawleys Island, in the Hammock Shops, is offering a $28 fixed-price meal Mondays through Thursdays throughout January. Diners get to select one appetizer, one entree and one dessert from a list of several choices. The phone number is 314-9014.

•  Chef Todd Tavares and Sharon Tavares are opening The Coliseum in mid-January in the spot formerly occupied by Cafe Italia (and before that, Bella Napoli) at 3901 Dick Pond Rd. in the Socastee area of Myrtle Beach. The Tavareses launched Cafe Italia two owners ago. Since selling Cafe Italia at 3601 Dick Pond Road in Socastee to Jeff Johns in early 2010, the restaurant was subsequently sold to Tami Gordon and Terri Henson in February 2011. Gordon and Henson closed Cafe Italia in September. The Coliseum will feature Tavares’ signature Italian dishes with a mid-price menu appealing to families, the couple said at the restaurant on Dec. 22. They plan to be open for business in the second or third week of January. During the past several years the Tavares have owned two different locations of Vito’s Deli, Forestbrook Fifties Diner, Cafe Italia and Crosswinds Catering.

•  Murray’s Savory & Sweets (www.murraysbistro.com) at 2954 E. Howard Ave. in The Market Common has created a contest where the winner will receive a five-course meal for Valentine’s Day. From now through Feb. 6, any customer who spends at least $10 at Murray’s can sign the backs of their receipts and drop them in a jar at the restaurant. One winner will be selected to received a catered Valentine’s Day meal prepared by Chef Mike Stahler that will include an entree, soup/salad, meat course, fish course and dessert. The package also includes flowers donated by Little Shop of Flowers.

•  Longtime Myrtle Beach chef, Giovanni Carandola, passed away in December, and his family held a service on Dec. 24. Carandola had an Italian restaurant called Giovanni’s in Greensboro, N.C., before selling it and moving to Myrtle Beach. He opened Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant across from the former Myrtle Square Mall in 1993, then moved Giovanni’s Gourmet Italian Cuisine to 6401 N. Kings Highway until he sold it in 2005. He served his food at Athens Pizza in Socastee before opening Giovanni’s A Taste of Italy in the summer of 2009 at 2005 Oakheart Rd., in Carolina Forest.

•  Ndulge Cupcakery, which was opened in the summer of 2010 by Ben Rozak and Jen Rozak at 3574 U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet, has closed. All the equipment has been removed from the store.

•  Cooter’s Backyard Bar & Grill at 3264 U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet is closed until March, according to a note taped to the building’s front door.

•  Pier House Restaurant and Pier View Bar at Second Avenue Pier in Myrtle Beach are closed for a winter hiatus. The reopening date is Feb. 16.

Becky Billingsley serves daily restaurant news at MyrtleBeachRestaurantNews.com.