roofer in Myrtle Beach, SC

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Quite a bit of construction has been underway in downtown Myrtle Beach as part of renovations for the Arts & Innovation District — which means some new restaurants are coming.

From a bakery to an upscale wine bar, southern barbecue and even an ice cream shop, all of it will soon be in the heart of Myrtle Beach.

“Myrtle Beach is obviously a hot spot,” he said. “The tourist traffic is amazing.”

As businesses have eyes set on Myrtle Beach, the city has a vision it’s sharing with prospects on the revitalization of the entire Arts & Innovation District.

“Once I heard about the story of what this stretch of Broadway Street use to be like and she shared her vision about what she hopes it would be again some day, I immediately agreed to bring Swig & Swine here and help be the anchor for growth here on Broadway street,” DiBernardo said.

The restaurant started in Charleston and continues to expand across the state. Swig & Swine BBQ is one of the first to open in the area, but also nearby and opening last month was Le Manna Bread.

It’s a bakery that is hoping to continue a 75-year tradition by opening up the store in the same location that a former Myrtle Beach bakery once was.

“The community, I mean, people are happy we are here, they love our product and we love people,” said co-owner Gus Penna.

Echoing the same sentiment, Frank Rodriguez explained why they serve big portions — enough for the entire family.

“The people, when they are coming, are normally coming as a family,” he said. “And we are thinking people that receive a big product is happy for the family.”

People might think they step inside a museum once they enter the bakery, but the owners say that’s the point — to fit in with the Arts & Innovation District.

As for these businesses goals, community involvement is at the forefront.

“The community to feel like they have a place where they can have delicious product, this is here at Le Manna,” Penna said.

“One thing about our commitment to our communities is we are rooted,” DiBernardo said. “I am a firm believer in the fact that one of the main reasons to the success of our company is our commitment to our communities.”

Also coming to the area soon and opening on 9th Avenue N. is the “Tasting Room on 9th,” which is an upscale wine bar and cocktail lounge. Next door will be the “Dolly Llama Waffle Master” ice cream and dessert shop. On the corner will be “Boteco VIP Latin Bar & Cuisine.”

Le Manna Bread is open seven days a week. As for Swig & Swine BBQ, they’re open Wednesday through Sunday, however come Monday, its doors will also be open seven days a week.

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Adriana Cotero is News13’s weekend evening anchor and a morning reporter. She joined the team in July 2023 after working in the island of Guam. Adriana is from Saline, Michigan, and graduated from Central Michigan University. Follow Adriana on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram and read more of her work here.

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When The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy premiered last year, the titular host wasn't sure he wanted to keep traveling. He told T&C, "The show is doing better things for me as a person. I'm coming out of the shell, a little bit. I'm still not a big traveler. Honestly, I'm not there yet. I still don't love traveling. But I think the fact that I'm trying things because of this show is actually making me a slightly more enlightened person than I was."

He (reluctantly?) agreed to do a second season, but limited the scope of his travels to Europe. "After experiencing season one, I've come to realize it's true what they say about travel broadening the mind—and, I guess my mind could still take some broadening. So I'm packing my suitcase once again and looking forward—with a healthy dose of trepidation—to whatever adventures lie in store," Levy said in a statement about the sophomore chapter of his series. "Here's to trying new things—well, within reason."

For the second installment of The Reluctant Traveler, Levy went from the very north of Europe (a village in the arctic circle in Sweden) to the very south (a Greek island), visiting the Scottish Highlands, the French Riviera, a German island, the Italian countryside, and Seville, Spain in between. Here, a guide to the seven luxury hotels Eugene Levy stays at during season two.

Watch The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy

Arctic Bath Hotel

In the first episode, Levy travels to Swedish Lapland for Midsummer celebrations, where he stays in the luxurious floating hotel.

Location: Harads, Sweden

How to get there: The hotel is located about 50 miles from the nearest airport, in Luleå. Once in Luleå, transfer to Arctic Bath is available by car and helicopter.

Rooms: 12

Book now

Candacraig House

Episode two finds Levy near the British royal family's beloved Balmoral estate, staying at Candacraig. (The two estates are just 15 miles apart.)

Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland

How to get there: The hotel is located less than an hour's drive from Aberdeen International Airport, or about an hour from Inverness Airport. It's also about a three hour drive from Edinburgh.

Rooms: 12

Book now

Hôtel Lily of the Valley

Levy leaves Scotland for the French riviera, visiting the luxe wellness hotel outside Saint-Tropez. He also has lunch with Joan Collins during the episode, a real highlight.

Location: La Croix-Valmer, France

How to get there: Fly to Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport, and then it's about an hour, 30 minute drive. It's also about 25 minutes from Saint-Tropez.

Rooms: 38

Book now

Lanserhof Sylt

In the fourth episode, Levy heads to an intense, exclusive wellness resort located on the island of Sylt off the coast of Germany. Lanserhof is part hotel, part wellness escape.

Location: Sylt, Germany

How to get there: You can fly to Westerland Sylt Airport, the airport on the island of Sylt, and then it's a quick 14 minute drive. Or, you can fly to Hamburg and drive (via the car train) to the island (which takes about three hours total).

Rooms: 68

Book now

Monteverdi Tuscany

Monteverdi Tuscany isn't just a hotel—it's actually an entire medieval hilltop village. Levy stays at the property in the Tuscan countryside in episode five, and it was his favorite of all the properties he visited.

Location: Tuscany, Italy

How to get there: You can either fly into Rome or Florence, then drive (it's about equidistant—around two hours either way). Or, take the train to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme, and it's a quick 30 minute drive.

Rooms: 20

Book now

Milos Cove

The penultimate episode of The Reluctant Traveler finds Levy in Milos, Greece, where he stays at the Milos Cove, run by a father-son duo.

Location: Komia, Milos Island, Greece

How to get there: Either fly or take the ferry to Milos, and then drive to the hotel. (It's about twenty minutes from both.)

Rooms: 42

Book now

Hotel Alfonso XIII

Levy's European trip ends in Seville, where he resides in the historic center of Seville in a hotel named for the former King of Spain.

Location: Seville, Spain

How to get there: Fly into the Seville airport, then it's about a 20 minute drive to the hotel.

Rooms: 147

Book now

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The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control found North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach restaurants had soiled surfaces in an ice machine and a leaky sink, among other violations.

SCDHEC inspects restaurants for violations routinely, with evaluations up to date as of March 6, 2024. These restaurants had the lowest scores in the Grand Strand area during the most recent cycle of inspections.

Location: 2120 Sea Mountain Hwy Suite #1100, North Myrtle Beach

Grade: 78 percent

SCDHEC inspected Filet’s Feb. 29 and found several violations. The report found soiled surfaces inside an ice machine and ready-to-eat cooked pasta held for more than 24 hours without a date marking, which SCDHEC reported was fixed.

SCDHEC also found sushi rice from the previous day that hadn’t been discarded yet, although this was also corrected. The inspection also found octopus improperly stored in a walk-in freezer, while the eatery’s menu did not have asterisked footnotes for specific menu items that needed one.

While the SCDHEC inspection found other violations, the report added that this asterisk issue was not corrected during the inspection.

According to SCDHEC’s report, Filet’s is required to have a 10-day on-site follow-up inspection. It could receive a downgrade if the restaurant does not fix several of its violations.

Location: 405 South Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach

Grade: 83 percent

SCDHEC inspected Ole Shillelagh on Feb. 26, 2024, and found several violations. A sink had a leak, and holes were found in the ceiling and walls of the kitchen area. The report also found dirty dishes in a hand sink and two pans of barbecue cooked without proper labeling in a walk-in cooler.

The report also found chicken and shrimp thawing at the hand sink, while ready-to-eat foods such as coleslaw, collards, cut lettuce, and others were not marked with dates.

Aside from other violations SCDHEC found, Ole Shillelagh Sports & Raw Bar will have an on-site, follow-up inspection within 10 days.

Location: 214 Main St, North Myrtle Beach

Grade: 84 percent

SCDHEC inspected Soho Steak & Seafood’s North Myrtle Beach location Feb. 26 and found several violations.

The report found plastic containers in a hand sink, which was corrected, and debris on a deflector plate inside an ice machine. SCDHEC did not observe a thermometer during the inspection, and an uncovered Thai Noodles container was observed on the floor in front of a fryer. The report also noted knives stored blades down between coolers, among other violations.

Soho’s North Myrtle Beach location is required to have an on-site follow-up within 10 days, although a routine inspection within 60 days is not required, according to SCDHEC’s report.

This story was originally published March 8, 2024, 6:00 AM.

Sidewalk seating at the cafes and bars along South Beach’s Ocean Drive has become so familiar residents and tourists take it for granted. It’s a part of South Florida’s lifestyle like the Miami Heat and the daily heat.

But that popular fancy dining, drinking and noshing under the sun or night lights habit on Ocean Drive is not to be for the next two weekends.

As a part of South Beach’s “breakup” with spring break, city officials have instituted a host of special rules including parking restrictions and fees and fines, and altered traffic patterns like lane closures, DUI checkpoints and license plate readers on major causeways leading to Miami Beach and Ocean Drive is not immune to the temporary changes.

READ MORE: Think South Beach is hard to navigate now? Wait til spring break. Here are new rules

Here’s what you need to know regarding temporary Ocean Drive rules during the height of spring break.

▪ No sidewalk seating on Ocean Drive on the Friday, Saturday and Sundays of March 8-10 and March 15-17.

▪ Traffic entrances: Ocean Drive will only be accessible to cars via 13th Street with a sole exit at Fifth Street on Thursday-Sunday March 7-10, March 14-17 and March 21-24. Barricades will line both sides of Ocean Drive to keep pedestrians and motorized vehicles out of each other’s path.

▪ Beach entrances: Access to Ocean Drive will be limited to Fifth, 10th and 12th streets and close at 6 p.m., according to the city breakup plan.

▪ Security checkpoints: Beach entrances on Ocean Drive will have security checkpoints to ensure prohibited items — including coolers, inflatable devices, tents, tables — don’t enter the beach. Amplified music without a city-issued permit will also be restricted. If you’re cranking up your music on Ocean Drive, do it on your personal ear buds.

▪ Alcohol and cigarettes: Drinking alcohol on the beach is always prohibited — not just during spring break. Liquor stores in the South Beach entertainment district are required to close at 8 p.m. Smoking on the beach also is prohibited.

Broadway at the Beach is one of Myrtle Beach’s main draws in terms of visitors.

Opened in 1995, Broadway at the Beach overflows with guests during the summer, the center’s seasonal boom period. Mikael Mkhoyan owns Sports Fanatics and Hat Fanatic at Broadway at the Beach, and he said his store’s peak season is around spring break and June through August.

He added that July accounts for 20 percent of his business at Broadway at the Beach, and the summer season, when tourists typically make impulsive purchases, equates to 45-50 percent.

“I get thrilled when it’s an impulse buy. You talk to people, and they weren’t planning to buy, but they’re tourists. They are here to have fun,” Mkhoyan said. “They are here to spend their money. Who gets it? Nobody knows.”

Fellow shop owners and managers at Broadway at the Beach, whom The Sun News also spoke to, agreed that the summer and spring were the peak times at the complex. Indeed, Broadway at the Beach’s traffic is similar to a bell curve, , where aside from a few other weeks, non-summer and spring break months are considerably quieter.

While Myrtle Beach residents might not dislike Broadway at the Beach—or view it favorably—it’s clear that locals do not make up Broadway at the Beach’s primary customer base.

Indeed, most locals seem to go elsewhere with their shopping needs. In addition to his Broadway at the Beach shops, Mkhoyan also has sports memorabilia locations at Tanger Outlets 17 and Barefoot Landing, which typically attract more locals than Broadway at the Beach, although both attract vacationers.

This reliance on tourists also makes Broadway at the Beach susceptible to a slowdown in the vacation economy. If vacationers stop visiting as their consumer tastes change, that too could pose a problem. However, a remedy would be to draw in more locals. Scott Smith is an associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, studying revenue management and pricing in the hospitality industry. For him, the peak season is not the key to success.

“I always tell people it’s easy to make money in the summer when everyone wants to be there, but how are you making money in October and September when demand falls off?” Smith asked in an interview with The Sun News. “The key to profitability is to make sure you’re addressing slow periods.”

Smith added that places like Broadway at the Beach can attract more locals by hosting events tailored to them, such as art galleries or events regarding craft beer. Broadway at the Beach already hosts events and has a history of holding outings during slower months, also known as shoulder season.

Live music is also a way to attract locals, and Broadway at the Beach’s restaurant, The Hangout, has a stage for live music. For Smith, hosting live music and bands would also benefit all of the surrounding businesses at Broadway at the Beach.

“You’ve got to draw, and then the people come,” Smith said. “They spend money in the shops and the restaurants, and there you go, you’ve got your locals out.”

According to a property brochure published by Broadway at the Beach’s owner, Burroughs & Chapin, the retail, restaurant, and entertainment center attracts more visitors than Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Its attendance is comparable to Magic Kingdom Park, according to the brochure.

The Sun News does not know when the brochure was published or if it is still accurate, as Burroughs & Chapin has declined repeated interview requests from The Sun News.

This story was originally published March 6, 2024, 6:00 AM.