Issue 16, September 26, 1996
Beginning October 4, a second Elvis impersonator will be performing along the Grand Strand. Eddie Miles has leased the empty Jubilee theater on US 17 in North Myrtle Beach. The first half of the show will be rock and beach music by the band, and Eddie will impersonate the king during the second half. Performances will be nightly except Sunday, with tickets at $20. A Christmas themed show will come later in the year. The Legends in Concert show down at Surfside prominently features James Lowrey, who also does the king of rock 'n' roll. Ironically, both of these theaters are owned by Calvin Gilmore, the operator of the Carolina Opry, who previously had country music style shows in the buildings before consolidating his Myrtle Beach operations down to a single show.
A large aircraft museum currently located in Arizona is considering relocating to the former Myrtle Beach Air Base. The museum contains 27 fighter aircraft, including Sopwiths, Fokkers, and MIGs, and is considered to be one of the best such collections in existence. The site would also contain a restaurant and flight-oriented video games. Occasional airshows would be staged.
In shopping news, one of those gigantic Wal-Mart supercenters has opened in Surfside on US 17 Bypass. Open 24 hours a day, the center contains a food store, hair care and eyeglass shops, and an ATM machine. The adjacent shopping center has Friedman's Jewelers, Cato's, and a discount clothing store, with a card store, bagel restaurant, Dairy Queen, Subway, GNC, and dollar shops to come. Inlet Square Mall has recently added Cellular One, PretzelMaker, and Hibbett Sports stores to their center. Outlet Park Mall at Wacammaw has gone smoke-free, joining the other area malls, and area beach shops are now required to shelve sexually explicit merchandise in separate areas of their stores, out of sight of children, or face a fine. A shopping center, the Village at Carolina Forest, is already being planned for the large suburban Carolina Forest development west of the Intracoastal, and will feature a grocery store and other businesses. (Details of this housing complex will be in an upcoming issue.)
A couple of large 24 hour nightclubs featuring fine dining and video gambling have opened. Club Casablanca, at 1019 US 17 South in North Myrtle Beach, has a sports bar and piano lounge in addition to the video gaming, and a restaurant that features snacking on numerous appetizers ('tapas', which originated in Spain). Lunch is 11:30 to 2:30 and dinner is 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Entrees are available at dinner. Call 803-361-4052 for more info. Also open is Tycoons, featuring gourmet dining and video gambling, at 1900 U.S. 17 North in Surfside; call 803-828-4653.
Yet another theme restaurant is coming to the beach. Easyriders Cafe, based on the motorcycle magazine of the same name, will be opening at Broadway at the Beach in the spring of 1997. There will be a microbrewery contained in the complex, along with a motorcycle museum and possibly a repair shop. The menu will feature good old red meat, and plenty of souvenirs will be available for purchase.
Coming soon, a detailed rundown of the upcoming Vivace arts festival October 18 - 27.
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