This 77-year-old Little River restaurant has changed hands. See what’s old, what’s new
One of the oldest restaurants on the Grand Strand — perhaps the oldest — has a new owner who is giving the property a facelift, while retaining some of its venerable charm and heritage.
One of the first orders of business is a name change.
Experienced restaurateur Lance Denny has purchased Capt. Juel’s Hurricane Restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River and has renamed it Hurricane Juel’s Restaurant.
He has been renovating the building and plans to open in time for the Blue Crab Festival on Little River’s waterfront, which will be held May 14-15.
“It’s a super neat building with a ton of culture, but it just needed some love,” Denny said. “It was built in 1945, and it just needed some attention.”
Capt. Juel’s rich history
The restaurant was founded in 1945 by Captain Juel, who ran a small one-room fishing operation from the building. A menu from the original location shows most dishes cost about $1 or less for fresh seafood.
Capt. Juel’s was purchased by Myrtle Beach native Joe Robertson in 1974, and the Robertson family recently sold it to Denny.
Some customers have been eating at the restaurant since the 1950s, including Cathy Fellows, of North Myrtle Beach, who said she started going there as a child during annual family vacations.
The 12,000-square-foot building can seat 550 diners. Denny has retained a rustic appearance from the exterior but modernized the building with renovations including replacing seating and lighting and adding fans. Wormy cedar walls have been added, and coloring has changed from tan, brown and red to largely white and gray.
“We dressed up a lot of the building just to make it a little bit more inviting, where it looks like it’s still got the original feel but modernized it a little bit with an industrial look, and the lighting has a more modern theme,” Denny said.
The waterway is being featured more with the renovations.
There are patios overlooking the waterway on both the first and second floors, and the bar has been moved to now overlook the waterway. Sushi is still being served, and the sushi bar has also been moved toward the waterway to provide views.
“It had amazing potential,” Denny said. “It has an upstairs they never really utilized, so upstairs we really kind of made a neat spot. We’re going to call it the Marlin Room. When you walk up there, it’s kind of a whole ‘nother level of views.
“Across the waterway is all that protected land. You can see all the way to Calabash and the bend going towards North Carolina and out to the Little River inlet from the second floor, and back up the waterway to probably Cricket Cove Marina. The views are like no other.”
A few boat slips on the waterway allow boaters to dock and eat. The Sea Screamer touring boat is also docked at Hurricane Juel’s.
A beer garden is being added among live oak trees that are hundreds of years old near the front of the building off Mineola Avenue.
“The trees have obviously been there for some time, and they’re really neat so we tried to open up that side of the building and showcase it,” Denny said.
What’s on the menu?
Menu items include multiple offerings with alligator and oysters, as well as seafood boils, blue crabs, soft shell crabs, baby back ribs with a Hurricane Hazel sauce, half chicken from the Pee Dee area, Mermaid Steak from North Carolina, fresh catches from Longshot Fishing in Little River including grouper, snapper and triggerfish served multiple ways, a crabmeat-stuffed flounder, and Mahi Oscar.
More than a dozen appetizers include crab-stuffed shrimp, conch fritters, and a Frying Pan Tower with fried green tomatoes layered with baby spinach, goat cheese, and candied applewood bacon bits drizzled with a balsamic glaze.
Handhelds include a burger with candied bacon and house-made pimento cheese, po’ boys, tacos and a salmon BLT.
There are also five salads, three seafood-based soups/chowders and a sampler of all three served with toasted naan bread, several desserts, and signature cocktails.
“We left some of the key items on the menu, and we’ve done a number of fun, new things,” Denny said.
Denny, a native of North Myrtle Beach whose family owned and operated the Sante Fe Station restaurant, is also an owner of area restaurants Snooky’s Oceanfront, Snooky’s On The Water and Souffle’s. He also owns Lance Restaurant Supply, has fabrication/welding and refrigeration businesses, and is a former owner of Blueberry’s Grill in North Myrtle Beach.
“Growing up in a restaurant, it’s tough to get out of them once you’re in it,” Denny said. “We’re excited about the new venture.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 9:48 AM.
