This family-owned breakfast restaurant will soon be expanding into Surfside Beach
Johnny D’s Waffles and Benedicts has prided itself on being a family affair along the Grand Strand for more than six years.
Soon Surfside Beach will become part of the family.
Johnny D’s — a small, family-owned breakfast chain started by Johnny Daskalis in 2014 with its initial Myrtle Beach spot — will be opening a third Grand Strand location in Surfside Beach in the building that formerly housed Denny’s, at 1200 U.S. 17 Business, in 2021. The family’s other restaurant is in North Myrtle Beach.
“It’s exciting for us. We’ll be able to serve more customers that way and broaden our reach,” said Jamie Daskalis, Johnny D’s daughter who is also head chef of the Myrtle Beach location and part of the ownership group. “Surfside is awesome. It is very busy down there and there’s already some good places to eat down there, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner. We’re just excited to be joining them because there is enough customers to go around. It’s a great opportunity to give the people in Surfside another place to eat.”
Jamie Daskalis said her brother, Nick, who recently graduated from culinary school, recently moved here and will be heavily involved in the new location, which she estimates will open around Valentine’s Day in 2021. Maria Daskalis runs the North Myrtle Beach location along with John Daskalis Jr., who is also a cook there.
“It truly is a family affair,” said Jamie Daskalis, whose father started the business here after running diners in New York for some 15 years.
Johnny D’s, which the Food Network named the place with the best waffles in South Carolina in 2018, offers menu items made from scratch. Jamie Daskalis said attention to detail, such as having blueberries made inside the waffles rather than topping the main course with the berries like other places do, is what makes Johnny D’s unique.
Simply put, she said the business is a family affair but chef-driven.
“We cater to the customers to make sure they have an enjoyable experience,” Jamie Daskalis said.
The details trickle all the way to the menu.
“We have a bright, colorful menu with lots of pictures so you get really excited before you get it rather than just words on a piece of paper,” Jamie Daskalis said, adding that the menu also includes unique benedicts and more. “When you see the picture and you see it come out the way it is in the photo, it’s exciting.”
Jamie Daskalis said many of her customers have been making the trek from Surfside Beach and Murrells Inlet to the Myrtle Beach location. Soon, those folks will have a closer option to get the same made-from-scratch meals they’ve enjoyed over the years.
“When you get that bite, you get that feeling that ‘Oh my God, this is so good,’” Jamie Daskalis said.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
