Garden City Pier reopens after months of repairs

The Garden City Pier is back in business after months repairing damage done by Hurricane Matthew.

Paula Green, the pier’s owner, said the grill on the pier opened at 7 a.m. Friday. The arcade and fishing are also open. Repairs have cost “in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Green said.

“We are appreciative of everybody being understanding that work had to be done to make everything safe for all of the customers,” she said. “It’s just part of living here at the beach. Piers do not do well in hurricanes, and we feel fortunate that we did not sustain more damage.”

Parking around the pier is limited as workers are still doing some minor repairs to the lots, Green said. Other remaining work includes bolting down benches along the pier. Other piers in the area have gotten a slower start with repairs, as the town of Surfside Beach continues to hold town halls on its pier reconstruction, and the Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach is not yet open.

Green said word about the opening at Garden City has spread quickly.

“We have some very housebound fishermen who are so happy to get out here and go fishing,” she said.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Garden City Pier reopens after months of repairs."