‘Bittersweet,’ A Pawleys Island restaurant will be moving at the end of the year
After nearly 20 years in business, a Pawleys Island restaurant will have to find a new home.
Austin’s Cabana Cafe and Ocean One will no longer reside in the Oceanfront Litchfield Inn at the end of the year. The eatery’s lease ends December 31 and will not be renewed owner and manager Annette Austin said in an interview with The Sun News.
The inn has decided to replace the restaurant with a different one, Austin said. The Inn refused to renew the restaurant’s lease, Austin said in a moment that was “sickening”.
The Oceanfront Litchfield Inn could not be immediately reached for comment, and it is unknown what the new restaurant will be. Austin, who also runs a catering business and Austin’s Harvest Restaurant at 1931 Brookgreen Drive in Murrells Inlet, said leaving the Inn is “bittersweet”.
“I wish it wasn’t coming to an end,” Austin added. “But I understand it’s a business decision.”
Despite the move, Austin said customers have shown support for the restaurant and are not happy that it will be moving by the end of the year.
The restaurant will not close though. Austin, who has run seven restaurants in her career with her husband Executive Chef Bill Austin, said she wants to stay on Pawleys Island and is looking at two new locations, although she did not say where.
“We love Pawleys Island,” Austin said. “We’ve literally been driving from home to work in Pawleys almost every day of that 24 years.”
The restaurant, which can currently serve 700 a day, has received an “outpouring of support” from customers, and Austin said people were sad they were moving.
Austin’s Cabana Cafe and Ocean One is two restaurants in one. A patio beach bar experience, Cabana Cafe has dishes such as fish tacos, fried oysters and okra and several seafood dishes and platters.
Ocean One is inside the Litchfield Inn and serves dishes like the Pan Fried Lobster Milanese, a lobster tail encrusted with parmesan served on angel hair pasta with lemon butter and has an extensive list of wines to choose from. Chef Bill Austin graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, one of the best cooking schools in the world.
Austin’s Ocean One is located at 1 Norris Drive on Pawleys Island. Austin’s Ocean One is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5-9 p.m. and reservations are recommended. Cabana Cafe is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and does take reservations.
Editor’s Note: The hours of operation for Austin’s Ocean One and Cabana Cafe were incorrect in a previous version. (Updated: 10:37 a.m. 07/21/2023)
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
