New restaurant district is coming to life at Barefoot Landing

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH The pond has been partially filled, several live oak trees are being staged for relocation and construction is ready to begin next week on LuLu’s restaurant in Barefoot Landing.

The restaurant owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister, Lucy, is the anchor of a new dining district under development by Burroughs & Chapin, which will transform the Intracoastal Waterway shopping district over the next few years.

LuLu’s is expected to be open by the spring for the next tourism season, and some of those live oak trees being moved out of the construction path will have a final home in front of LuLu’s.

Seth McCoy, director of construction for Burroughs & Chapin, revealed some of the details during a North Myrtle Beach Planning Commission workshop on Tuesday.

The live oak trees in the back of the lot and adjacent to the cemetery will be relocated by a Texas company that specializes in moving trees of that size, McCoy said.

“They actually dig down, box it, put inflatable tubes underneath it, then roll it,” McCoy said.

During construction, the trees will be staged along the waterfront.

McCoy also presented plans for the rooftop sign that will mirror LuLu’s logo of ocean waves, sparkling sun and swaying palm tree that embrace her name.

Rather than facing the Intracoastal Waterway as depicted in the original rendering of the new restaurant district, the sign will face inwards towards the Barefoot district.

There are no plans to backlight the sign from the waterway view. A decision has not been made whether to light the mostly teal sign in neon or LED lights, McCoy said.

The site plan was also tweaked for pedestrian traffic, and will include a new restroom facility.

McCoy said they are looking for temporary attractions to move into the former Fire Island Grille and Castano's Italian Steakhouse, which closed last month. There has been some discussion about removing the building that once housed the grille.

“Construction makes it a little hard to lease, so hopefully after this winter and early spring, once I get all the heavy equipment out of there, we’ll pick up some more (tenants,)” McCoy said.

TBonz Gill and Grill, operated by Homegrown Hospitality Group, has relocated to 21st Avenue and Seaboard Street while that structure is undergoing renovations.

The hospitality group said in an announcement another restaurant will be part of the redeveloped Barefoot Landing complex when it reopens with a “new and exciting” Mexican concept.

The restaurant district will be known as the Dockside Village and will feature waterfront dining on the with other new outdoor attractions and live music.

In addition to the 400-seat restaurant and outdoor dining areas at LuLu’s, the restaurant will feature live music nightly, a large sandy beach, a ropes climbing course, an arcade and other activities throughout the approximately 20,000 square foot destination.

LuLu’s also will be home to “LuLu’s Shag Beach Bar.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 4:41 PM with the headline "New restaurant district is coming to life at Barefoot Landing."