North Myrtle Beach restaurant opened outdoor dining in protest amid coronavirus
A North Myrtle Beach restaurateur was slapped with a citation from S.C. Law Enforcement Division after opening his business for outdoor dining last weekend, but the owner said it was all done in protest to send a message to S.C Gov. Henry McMaster.
SLED issued a written warning to Buoys on the Boulevard on Monday, according to spokesperson Tommy Crosby, after violating state orders that call for all bars and dine-in restaurants statewide to close to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The executive order has been in effect since March, when South Carolina started seeing more confirmed coronavirus cases.
Since that time, several businesses along the Grand Strand have found alternative ways to continue operating, whether it be through takeout, delivery or curbside services, until they’re allowed to officially reopen.
But Buoys owner Weldon Boyd doesn’t think it’s fair that cooperate businesses like Lowe’s and Walmart have flourished amid the coronavirus while independent restaurants and shops suffer. Boyd said he opened his business to outdoor, on-premise dining last Saturday to prove a point and protest the current restrictions.
“We did it to show that we can do this and we can operate and still practice good measures and be able to generate a little bit more revenue that we desperately need to stay afloat,” Boyd said. “Right now, the way we’re forced to operate isn’t working for any of us.”
With social distancing in mind, Boyd set up picnic tables at least 20 feet apart from each other in the restaurants parking lot, with staff continuously sanitizing both menus and tables after each meal, he said. For the few days he was open, Boyd said he garnered increased foot traffic and support from the community for his efforts to protect his business from permanent closure.
He pressed that he should be allowed to provide dining services outdoors, especially with beaches and some retailers now open to the public. The current executive order is an overstep by the government, he said.
“Everybody has their opinions on it, but nobody is in my shoes,” Boyd said. “The naysayers, they don’t understand the situation we’re in. This is not a selfish move. We’re the majority, and we’re struggling the most.”
While Boyd complied with SLED by stopping all outdoor dining and removing the tables from his parking lot on Monday, he said he won’t restrict customers from tailgating or eating in their parked cars when they come by the restaurant, noting his frustration after having not received a Paycheck Protection Program loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
With the loan designed to assist small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, Boyd said he has done everything to apply for it since mid-March, but is now using personal savings to keep his business open and the few employees he has working paid. Of his roughly 40 employees, only 20 percent of them have received their unemployment benefits, he added.
“So, they’re starving, I’m struggling and I’ve got 40 people I’m trying to look out for,” Boyd said, adding that his decision to reopen had nothing to do with greed or selfish motivations.
“Everything I might possibly make I’m going to have to spend every penny of, if not more and borrow, to survive this winter to make it to next summer. I ain’t gonna make a profit,” Boyd said. “This is just to keep my people fed and keep this business alive because if this shuts down, then they’re on the streets trying to find something else to do and so am I.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 10:44 AM.
