It has been an oceanfront eatery in Garden City for 38 years. What new ownership means
Misty Pate-Coan was eating at one of her favorite restaurants last summer and chatting with the owner, who is a friend and neighbor, when she was taken aback by the conversation.
Donny Lamb told her that he and co-owner Holly Watts were planning to retire after 37 years of operating The Conch Cafe on the oceanfront in Garden City.
“I said, ‘If you’re going to retire let me know.’ So that’s how I ended up here,” said Pate-Coan, who has taken over operation of the venerable restaurant. “This was not in the plan because we have a lot on our plate, but we’re really excited about it.”
Pate-Coan, who is an owner of The Boathouse and Lulu’s Cafe in Myrtle Beach, has made a few changes and improvements, has added menu items, and will be adding more menu items over the next few months. But she otherwise hasn’t changed much, including tried and true recipes, so favorites such as conch fritters and she crab soup will remain consistent.
“I feel like this is the old Conch and I’m the only new thing here,” she said. “We have the same old faces, same old recipes, same great service, but a fresh new look and some new menu items. If this is what’s been working for 37 years, if people come in here and love this, then I’m good to go.”
Many of the employees have worked at Conch Cafe for a decade or more, including kitchen manager Todd Warden, who acquires fresh fish from local purveyors.
“I stepped in here with a group of people who have been working here for 5, 10, 25, 36, 37 years,” Pate-Coan said. “This is like a community staple, and pretty much everybody in Garden City has a story about the time they worked at Conch Cafe. People have all these great stories.”
The restaurant building was originally constructed in the early 1980s as a clubhouse for the Oceanside Village development, which features more than 1,100 residences on 180 acres.
Pate-Coan updated the logo, painted the interior, and added light fixtures and hanging plants but has kept the interior simple. “I think the main focus should be on the ocean and not all the stuff in here,” she said.
Hot dogs and quesadillas were taken off the menu because they didn’t fit with the rest of the offerings, Pate-Coan said, and a few items have been added including a pasta dish and Fisherman’s Feast, which includes every seafood item on the menu “plus the kitchen sink,” Pate-Coan said. “If you want to come sample everything we have, here it is, but bring friends.”
There is a different special daily, and those are often trial runs for potential new menu items, including a ribeye steak with a seafood creme sauce.
Conch Cafe brews it own tea, and there are new signature cocktails and frozen drinks.
The restaurant is open daily with one menu from 11 a.m. until close, which can fluctuate.
Lulu’s on the move
Lulu’s Cafe on North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach will open this weekend for the 11th consecutive season.
Pate-Coan said she plans to move that restaurant in 2024 to property she owns on Broadway Street, and expects it to be one of two adjacent restaurants with a shared kitchen and a living area on the second floor.
At The Boathouse, a small in-house brewery has been expanded from two to 10 barrels and will now be offering more craft brews.
