‘Best kept secret’ Pee Dee bar celebrates one last weekend before likely closure
The Fox Hole bar, one of Marion County’s “best kept secrets,” could close after this weekend as the redevelopment of the Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex proceeds.
The entertainment complex is in the midst of a massive redevelopment that will turn the 226-acre property into a mixed-use residential and commercial space. When it’s all done, developer Robert Hartmann plans to have 1,800 “cottage homes,” 11 acres of retail and restaurant space, a 650,000-square-foot entertainment venue and an RV park.
The commercial space could include a gas station, bank, walk-in medical clinic and restaurants. He’s aiming for the people living in the development to be retirees, and he wants it to ensure they don’t have to drive far to get to essential services.
“The idea here for the homes is that you can come here and have your home, no maintenance, no headaches, enjoy the rest of your life, retire,” Hartmann said. “It’s like everything at your beck and call.”
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It’s been years since Swamp Fox was fully utilized used for a large-scale event.
One of the only events held there was the Swamp Fox Biker Bash in 2016, shortly after the Carolina Ampitheater reopened under the name Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex.
Hartmann bought the property in 2014 but said it’s been difficult to regularly hold events there. Almost entirely outdoor, the venue is susceptible to weather — hurricanes, in particular — and then the coronavirus pandemic arrived and killed another round of events.
“Imagine you spend a thousand dollars for tickets to go see an artist and a major storm comes. The artist is not going to play,” Hartmann said. “What happens is we reschedule. So your ticket — you don’t get a refund, but your ticket is good for the next available show.”
But then, “the show is going to be available, but you may not be available,” he said.
The Fox Hole
Tucked away deep inside the Swamp Fox complex, the Fox Hole bar would be impossible to find if it weren’t for a sign on Highway 501 pointing to a half-open gate.
Past the gate is a road that snakes past giant grass fields that were used for parking in Swamp Fox’s past lives. Hartmann said the bar gets solid traffic from those who do know about it, allowing it to do well in spite of its clandestine location.
“It’s the best kept secret,” Hartmann said. “I haven’t really advertised. We don’t really promote it. It’s all word of mouth, and people just have a great time.”
On Facebook, the Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex said this weekend would be Fox Hole’s last for a while. Hartmann said the main issue is that construction near the building could require them to shut off the septic lines, essentially preventing the bar from being able to operate. However, he said that it could stay open longer depending on when exactly that part of the redevelopment occurs.
No matter when it closes, Hartmann assured that the Fox Hole bar would reopen eventually. Once it does, Marion County council member Allen Floyd believes the upgrades to the development around it will help the bar get a lot more traffic than it does right now.
“I just hope it works out for everybody involved, for the investor and for the people that will come in and be a part of it,” Floyd said.
Economic boon for Marion County
The Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex might not have a good track record for attracting visitors and revenue, but Hartmann believes this time will be different.
For one, the new onsite entertainment venue will be an indoor facility, ensuring the show can go on, regardless of the weather.
Hartmann also thinks that having the RV park and a hotel will encourage more people to come. In the past, there was never a nearby place to stay, so visitors would go to events and then have to drive up to an hour to Florence or Myrtle Beach if they needed or wanted to stay overnight.
The residential community also will help provide a permanent cadre of potential customers for the venue, Hartmann said.
Council member Floyd is excited for the development — so long as it actually follows through on what’s currently promised. He said Marion desperately needs more housing and that it will help bring new, permanent jobs to the county.
Bringing in retirees in particular, Floyd said, will help ensure county gets more taxpayers to help fund county services without being a drain at the same time.
“There’s not a lot of burden on the schools, but they pay school taxes,” he said. “And they don’t usually bring any crime, like with some the other groups. If you zero in on the retiree market, I think it’s a win-win. I really do.”
The nearby Myrtle Beach area has also been an attractive retirement community for decades, creating another potential wrench. Floyd believes, however, that the development and Marion County as a whole will serve as a quieter alternative to the busy, and frequently crowded, South Carolina coast.
“A lot of people have moved to the beach,” said Floyd, who is a former real estate agent. “It has grown so rapidly that (some) are looking to move out of the beach area and still enjoy it on a daily basis but not have to put up with all that traffic congestion.”
Homes in the Swamp Fox community could go on sale as soon as this fall, Hartmann said, with move-ins about six months later. The rest of the development will follow over the next decade.
