NC company announced it would bring 1920s themed bar to Myrtle Beach. When will it open?
Plans to turn a former Myrtle Beach church into a 1920s themed bar seemed like an exciting new addition to downtown Myrtle Beach.
But it’s been over two years since the project was announced and there seems to be little to no progress.
Will it actually come to fruition?
The proposal was for Mayfair Hospitality to open a Roar-type bar in the First Presbyterian Church, a 77-year-old building located along Kings Highway between 13th and 14th Avenue North.
Roar first opened in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and features a bar, restaurant, bowling alley, mini golf, arcade and a roof-top space.
Myrtle Beach was supposed to be one city of several Roar would expand into. The Mayfair website mentions Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio, as other future locations. But as of Jan. 29, the former church appears abandoned as it was in 2022.
Mayfair Hospitality did not respond to The Sun News multiple requests for comment.
In March 2023, Steve Burgess, the managing partner of Mayfair Hospitality, told the Myrtle Beach City Council that Mayfair was in the process of purchasing the building. Currently, Roar Myrtle Beach LLC owns the property, according to Horry County Land Records.
Burgess said he wanted to keep the outside of the church intact, The Sun News previously reported.
“We are a big protector of historical buildings. That’s our main business, so we actually become the landlord and tenant at the same time,” Burgess told the City Council in 2023.
In 2025, it appears no work has been done on the Kings Highway church. The building looked empty with most of the windows being covered up by shutters or blinds. There was no evidence of contractors coming and going. The only sign of change is the “Roar Myrtle Beach” sign posted out front.
The Sun News asked the city of Myrtle Beach if there were any permit applications for the address. Patrick Lloyd, the Myrtle Beach creative services director, said the city had not heard any news from the contractor or owner in an email.
The First Presbyterian Church occupied the building from 1948 until 2019, when the congregation moved to a newly built church along Robert Grissom Parkway. Since then, the city of Myrtle Beach and Coastal Carolina University considered buying the church, The Sun News previously reported.
