Savory decision

Friday’s secondary editorial encourages the Myrtle Beach City Council to continue developing the new boardwalk to its full potential.

Myrtle Beach’s new boardwalk is built, the first sidewalk cafes are springing up, and joining them will be a new entry into beachside commerce: three mobile food carts, one with hot dogs, one with fresh-squeezed lemonade, and a third selling Italian ice.

Downtown merchants who have already made substantial investments in their properties had been understandably concerned about a proliferation of new, low-overhead competition if vendors on the boardwalk were given free reign. Many in the community felt the commercial benefits of the new infrastructure should not be limited to existing businesses. Though the individual members’ opinions were strongly divergent (the vote was an unusual 4-2), the Myrtle Beach City Council settled on a fair set of compromises: New vendors will be assigned an area not directly in front of existing restaurants, and only three franchise agreements are being issued.

One theme running through the debate was that the new offerings will enhance the boardwalk’s appeal, and while that point made sense in theory, it remains unclear exactly how successful it will be in practice. Earlier this year, the city described “hundreds” of inquiries from interested parties all over the country, yet none of the dozen or so applicants seemed to offer products that were substantially different from what’s already available in downtown shops.

The three chosen represent a good start in the boardwalk experiment. But the city should encourage more ingenuity in the coming years from those seeking undeniably lucrative posts on our appealing new amenity.

Downtown merchants who have already made substantial investments in their properties had been understandably concerned about a proliferation of new, low-overhead competition if vendors on the boardwalk were given free reign. Many in the community felt the commercial benefits of the new infrastructure should not be limited to existing businesses. Though the individual members’ opinions were strongly divergent (the vote was an unusual 4-2), the Myrtle Beach City Council settled on a fair set of compromises: New vendors will be assigned an area not directly in front of existing restaurants, and only three franchise agreements are being issued.

One theme running through the debate was that the new offerings will enhance the boardwalk’s appeal, and while that point made sense in theory, it remains unclear exactly how successful it will be in practice. Earlier this year, the city described “hundreds” of inquiries from interested parties all over the country, yet none of the dozen or so applicants seemed to offer products that were substantially different from what’s already available in downtown shops.

The three chosen represent a good start in the boardwalk experiment. But the city should encourage more ingenuity in the coming years from those seeking undeniably lucrative posts on our appealing new amenity.