What we said goodbye to in 2020: Which businesses closed in Myrtle Beach this year?
Stories about businesses closing in 2020 seem to have no end.
The coronavirus pandemic hastened the closure of brick-and-mortar retail in the Grand Strand region, an industry already challenged by online shopping. Two longtime nightclubs closed their doors permanently, and Horry County gave one final goodbye to the Myrtle Beach Speedway.
It’s unclear when Myrtle Beach will fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, but many experts say it won’t be before vaccines become both widely available and widely adopted.
Some of the business closures this year were a long time coming, and likely would have happened regardless of the pandemic.
Here’s what 2020 took from the Grand Strand. This is not a comprehensive list of business closures.
The Aquarius Motel announced its “heartbreaking” closure to residents in early December with just one week’s notice. The motel was known as a center for drugs, prostitution and other criminal activity. Nevertheless, it provided homes, as well as jobs, to residents of Myrtle Beach.
The Myrtle Beach Mall has been dying for years. J.C. Penney, Bath & Body Works and Hallmark left it in the spring, their closures announced in January. Foot Locker closed in February.
Three Justice stores, one at Coastal Grand Mall and both at each of the Grand Strand’s Tanger Outlets, closed over the summer. The popular “tween” clothing store chain later announced plans in November to close all of its stores by early 2021.
The restaurant Captain D’s in Surfside Beach posted signs of its closure in early October, citing the coronavirus pandemic as the reason. It was a short run for the restaurant, located next to the shell of another short-lived eatery, Steak ‘n Shake.
Oz the Experience and Malibu’s Surf Bar closed in March amid COVID-19 shutdowns and never reopened. The pair of connected nightclubs were staples of Broadway at the Beach. The company that owns them, Celebrations Nitelife, announced their final closures in July. Broadway at the Beach later sued Celebrations Nitelife for failing to pay rent.
The Myrtle Beach Speedway held one final race in September, hosting an event with hundreds of people that violated large event restrictions at the time. Pending regulatory and county approvals, the track will be turned into a mix-used commercial and residential development. Longtime users and visitors of the track said saying goodbye was like “losing a friend.” It is located off of US-Hwy. 501 and SC-Hwy. 31 N.
