Reality check: Was city owned equipment moved to an elected officials building?

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When Myrtle Beach eatery Winna’s Kitchen moved restaurant equipment leased from the city into its former location, it kicked off speculation and accusations.

But owner Jess Sagun says the equipment was moved temporarily for cleaning without involvement from the city or Mayor Brenda Bethune.

“Brenda and the city of Myrtle Beach had nothing to do with it, nothing,” Sagun said. “It was 100% on me... It was a very, very temporary situation,”

Winna’s Kitchen moved operations from 819 Main St., which is owned by Mayor Bethune and her husband, around the corner to 507 Ninth Ave. N., which is owned by the city, earlier this year.

But the restaurant isn’t only leasing the space. When Myrtle Beach City Council voted to terminate former tenant Le Manna Bread’s lease, the city bought all the equipment, fixtures and furniture for $125,000.

According to Sagun, Winna’s Kitchen moved equipment, including some being leased from the city, out of its current Ninth Avenue location this week to clean the space.

Assistant city manager Brian Tucker said, under the lease agreement, Winna’s Kitchen doesn’t need approval from the city to move the leased equipment, but “several months back” Sagun spoke with him about temporarily storing the equipment elsewhere “as a courtesy.”

Although Winna’s Kitchen no longer leases space in the Main Street building owned by the Bethunes, Sagun still has access to the former location, which shares a parking lot with the current location.

“We still have a key to 819 Main St. because we have stuff that’s over there from when our location was there…I had my husband and one of his friends literally take a few pieces of equipment over there so that we could get the other stuff clean,” Sagun said. “It is a was a very temporary situation”

That’s what kicked off the rumors.

“CORRUPTION! Taxpayer fraud!,” former Mayor and current mayoral candidate Mark McBride wrote on Facebook. “YOUR used equipment YOU paid for is now in the Mayor’s building beside the theater…I guess Y’ALL paid over a $100k for equipment that the Mayor & her husband are now in possession of,”

On Friday afternoon, Sagun said Winna’s Kitchen intended to move the equipment, which the city still owns, and the restaurant still leases, back into its current Ninth Avenue location the same day.

“It isn’t what it is being made out to be…I didn’t realize, honest to God, I simply did not realize it was going to be a big deal,” said Sagun.