This enduring NMB shaggers and live entertainment club has been sold. See what’s next

Duck’s beach club has been a staple of the Ocean Drive area of Main Street in North Myrtle Beach since at least the early 1980s and has a loyal following.

How loyal?

When Dwayne and Robin Porter purchased the bar and restaurant two weeks ago, they discovered several urns in a back office that reportedly contained the remains of people who requested they be kept at the club after their death.

So the Porters don’t want to change the essence of Duck’s, but they do want to improve it and have already started that process.

“I think Duck’s has a reputation that is untouchable and we want to be part of the community,” Dwayne said. “We don’t want to change it. We want to hopefully make it better.

“… We want to take the place from 1982 to 2020.”

Duck’s is two connected businesses — Duck’s Café at 231 Main St., which includes indoor and sidewalk seating, and Duck’s Night Life at 229 Main.

It has entertainment seven nights a week, both on its sidewalk café and in the nightclub.

Dwayne said the Porters purchased Duck’s from a Mooresville, N.C., man who owned it since 2004. They have been the acting co-managers for the past month, once they began the purchase process.

Duck’s is one of a few longstanding shag dancing hotspots in North Myrtle Beach, and the Porters are scheduled to meet with Society of Stranders representatives about continuing to host their three annual events in the area.

“Nothing is going to change on the SOS [outings],” Dwayne said. “We’re not here to change what Duck’s was originally built around, and our first commitment is to that, and that is the shagging.”

Ironically, neither Dwayne nor Robin drink or dance.

Career change

Dwayne owns a financial company and is a partner with his son in the Creative Curbs concrete company in Myrtle Beach. The Porters have been married 28 years, have children 12 and 8 in addition to their 25-year-old son, and have never owned a bar, restaurant or nightclub.

“This is the first business we’ve owned that we’re doing together,” Dwayne said. “We’ve always wanted to try this but we didn’t want to jump in over our heads. We didn’t want to start from scratch, we wanted an existing establishment.”

The Porters frequently visited the Grand Strand before moving to Surfside Beach from Shelby, N.C., two years ago to semi-retire and look for a bar or nightclub to buy. “We love the area. I have always wanted to live at the coast,” Dwayne said.

They had never heard of Duck’s before someone mentioned it was for sale, and visited the bar and Main Street numerous times this spring to talk to customers, locals and other business owners, including during the SOS Spring Safari in April and May.

The Porters have been talking to patrons and getting feedback on what they’d like to see remain and change. “I’ve met more people in the past month than I think I’ve met in my whole life,” Dwayne said.

They have already started improving the heating and air conditioning units — a chief complaint — and have several other things planned.

The roof over the nightclub was recently replaced, the restaurant will soon have a new roof, the exterior of the building will be painted and modernized with neon signs, and indoor and outdoor furniture will be replaced as part of a modernization of the décor, which will become beach- and shag dance-themed. The Porters also plan to upgrade sound and lighting.

“We’re in the process of transitioning, learning how things have been done and trying to change stuff that hasn’t worked for years. People get complacent after a period of time,” Dwayne said. “… Over the last few years there hasn’t been much done other than don’t fix it until it breaks, and when it does break either duct tape it or glue it. All the duct tape and glue is starting to melt and come loose and we’re finding stuff every day.”

Because they took over at the onset of the summer tourism season, some of the changes will have to wait until fall and winter, if not beyond that. “We’re going to do it in the time frame we can do it,” Dwayne said.

Entertainment hub

The Porters inherited live music bookings in the nightclub through much of the remainder of the year. The club features country, rock and other genres, and attracts customers from their 20s to their 80s, as Duck’s’ longstanding customers now intermingle with a new group of clubgoers.

“We’ve got such a wide range of age groups here,” Dwayne said. “The older group is what made Duck’s what it is, and we try to cater to that, but during that time we have to make sure we’re entertaining the younger group, the tourist group and everybody that comes to North Myrtle Beach.”

The Porters will beef up security at the club and are cautious about booking bands that will attract a rowdy crowd. “We want to make sure we have the right bands for Duck’s,” Dwayne said. “That dictates the crowd you bring in. My biggest thing is to continue Duck’s as to what it has always been, but do it in a safe, fun environment. I don’t like dealing with a sloppy drunk.”

Outdoor entertainment is between 6 and 10 p.m., and inside bands start about 9-9:30 p.m. The club is open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. nightly, and there is a $5 cover but women and locals are always free. VIP cards will also be reintroduced.

The restaurant opens at noon and may soon open at 11 a.m., and closes around 10-11 p.m., depending on business. Patrons can eat inside or outside.

The Porters are considering starting a Sunday breakfast buffet, plan to deliver food via Uber Eats, and always-available breakfast items are among the additions to the menu.

There will be daily specials including fish on Fridays, and the menu includes hot sandwiches including a Reuben, a Duck BLT with duck meat, steamed or fried shrimp, and some healthier options.

The Porters said they allowed all existing employees to retain their jobs, including a bartender who has been at the club two decades and general manager Michelle Avant, who has been at the club more than a decade.

“Other than the lack of sleep I think we’ve made the right decision. We enjoy this,” Dwayne said.

To honor the club’s departed supporters, the Porters are considering some type of memorial, with or without the urns.

“That shows you the dedication of people who have been coming to Duck’s,” Dwayne said. “We don’t consider this a bar. It’s a place for everybody to come. It’s family-oriented and it’s a real close, tight-knit group of people.”

This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 11:43 AM.