MYRTLE BEACH — Construction on Banditos, a new Mexican restaurant in Myrtle Beach, is expected to be finished in late July, but an extension of the Boardwalk near the business has not yet begun.

The restaurant is going to be at the 1400 block of North Ocean Boulevard. The developer of the land and owner of Banditos, Chip Smith, paid for the boardwalk to be extended to include his new restaurant.

“I just took [the City Council] a business plan that included extending the boardwalk, and the city didn’t have funding at this time and it looks like private funding would be the only way to make it work,” said Smith.

Myrtle Beach Spokesman Mark Kruea said this plan could improve the boardwalk, especially since Smith was paying for it.

“The developer is kicking in a considerable amount of money for additional infrastructure. It was a good proposal for bringing some new activity to Ocean Boulevard,” Kruea said.

Smith has lived in Myrtle Beach all his life and said he felt it was the right time to open the restaurant. Banditos will offer Mexican food with oceanfront dining.

“I think we have an excellent chef with Mexican food experience. Probably the best ocean views in Myrtle Beach. As well as a lot of great views from inside the restaurant and outside on the deck area,” Smith said.

The Georgetown-based general contractors Consensus Builders handled the work for the project.

President of Consensus Builders John O’Brien said, “It is a very special project and there are a lot of challenges to get open but it looks like we are going to do it shortly. It’s going to be very great for the city of Myrtle Beach, for the Boardwalk and the beach-front dining.”

Consensus started construction at the end of March, and Smith and O’Brien say that permits have delayed the opening.

Smith said he had to purchase multiple lots to accommodate the project, so the city needed to figure out how to move around some alleys to make space for the restaurant.

“We approved moving a couple alleys around to create a bigger piece of property for the developer and the city. The city cannot lose any property and can’t lose any views, plus the developer paid us $40,000 per alley way or 1 percent of the development cost of the project,” Kruea said.

Smith said the alleys were moved to the north end of the property to ensure that Banditos would be one continuous building.

The extension to the boardwalk has been approved, but the restaurant is planning to open before that is completed.

Contact BILLY CROSBY at 626-0310.