Shop Talk: Buying into Grand Strand retail

Banking on bagels and ice cream

The Ice Cream Place opened today in the Studebaker's plaza in Myrtle Beach.

Ruben Luster opened the shop right next door to his other eatery, The Bagel Factory at 2012 N. Kings Hwy., hoping to cash in on tourist traffic this summer.

"I really thought that we could feed a lot off of the bagel store. We've got such a good, steady clientele" he said. "There's a ton of foot traffic, there's a ton of car traffic."

The shop serves ice cream, shakes, smoothies and sundaes, and is running a buy one, get one free promotion for its first week in business.

Luster is looking to expand - his next move will be to open a bagel store in North Myrtle Beach, and he's looking for a site, he said. In December, he sold his Carolina Forest shop, citing management troubles. That shop still operates under the same name by a new owner.

A Touch of Class in Carolina Forest

A Touch of Class Bakery Café opens tomorrow in Carolina Forest, selling edibles such as cakes, muffins and breads.

Check out this story from The Sun News reporter Jan Igoe about it.

Jugo Juice open for business

Jugo Juice smoothie shop opened recently in The Market Common across from the Grand 14 Cinema.

It's the franchise's first South Carolina location, offering items such as fruit smoothies and grilled wraps.

The Market Common retail and housing development opened this year on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base and is home to about 40 stores and restaurants.

Canipes Chocolates to join Market Common

A Canipes Chocolates store is slated to open this summer at 3351 Reed Street in The Market Common retail/housing development.

Owners would like to open in the new spot across from Barnes & Noble  by the end of June, but it's unclear when the store interior will be finished, said co-owner Todd Canipe.

The new store will offer many of the same candies as its Coastal Grand Mall location, including truffles, fudges, brittles and taffy, Canipe said. It will also have a few new items: pralines and homemade cookies.

The Canipe family owns Canipes Chocolates and also the Wee R. Sweetz stores in Broadway at the Beach and Barefoot Landing.

Coastal Grand making additions

Coastal Grand Mall broke ground this month on a new building near Books-A-Million and Old Navy in the mall's restaurant district.

The Shops at Coastal Grand will contain 14,425 square feet of retail and restaurant space and is expected to be finished by the end of this year. It will house shops and eateries including European Spa, Heaven & Earth, Nikki's Hibachi Steak House, Southern Pearls, Sunglass Warehouse and Lil Tractor Company, according to a news release.

Also in the mall's restaurant district, a Texas Roadhouse Grill will replace Dead Dog Saloon, which closed in April, and a Red Robin Gourmet Burgers will open June 30 next to Cracker Barrel.

I Love NY Pizza opens in Galleria

I Love NY Pizza & Subs opened this month in the Galleria Shopping Center in Myrtle Beach.

The restaurant offers hot and cold sub sandwiches, salads, pizzas, stromboli and calzones. It's owned by Frank Amato, who also owned the I Love NY Pizza in Wilmington, N.C.

Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Three new businesses for Barefoot Landing

Several new stores are getting ready to open at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.

American Vintage, a vintage clothing and accessories store; upscale restaurant LeGrand's Chophouse; and Go Fish Clothing and Jewelry Co., a retailer with items from other countries, are all in the works.

Marketing director Kim Kelley didn't have opening dates, but said American Vintage will open this month and the chophouse is under construction.

May opening for Cold Stone Creamery

Cold Stone Creamery in The Market Common will open for business before the end of this month and will hold grand opening events on May 31, according to Paul Trindel, an area developer for Cold Stone.

It could have a soft opening open a few days before May 31, Trindel said. Many businesses hold what they call soft openings to work out any potential kinks.

The ice cream shop serves ice cream, smoothies, cakes and shakes that are prepared using a frozen granite stone. The company already has three locations on the Grand Strand: in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet.

It's the latest addition to the shopping and housing hub, which opened in April on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

The Pig readies for 6:30 a.m. debut

Piggly Wiggly employees were stocking, pricing and prepping food today to get ready for its 6:30 a.m. opening Thursday.

Rita Postell, spokeswoman for Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company Inc., said she expects members of the roughly 150 to 160-person staff to be there until midnight or 1 a.m. putting final touches on the store.

“We just do what it takes,” she said.

The store uses a new design that Piggly Wiggly is piloting, where foods are grouped based on what they are rather than how they’re prepared. That means canned vegetables are next to fresh produce and frozen vegetables, and cereal is next to milk.

The store also has four meal stations set up throughout the store that display a recipe and all the ingredients to make it; café seating; a Starbucks; about 1,500 to
1,600 types of wine; and a sushi chef, salad bar and hot meal station.

Through the weekend, the store will give out free food to the first 250 customers. Thursday, they’ll get 12 ounces of a specialty bacon. Friday fresh strawberries will be up for grabs. Saturday they'll get two liters of Coke or Diet Coke and Sunday, a loaf of Sarah Lee bread. 

Piggly Wiggly CEO David Schools will be at the store Thursday along with Julie Dugas with the store’s designer Marco Retail Group.

The store will operate Thursday during its normal business hours,  6:30 a.m. until midnight.

Toffino's expansion: A decade overdue

Toffino's Italian Bakery & Deli plans to begin building another restaurant and seven townhomes this summer.

Owner Philip Pecora moved his restaurant from the north end to the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base more than a decade ago ― and has waited, patiently ― for the base to be redeveloped.

Pecora is ready to capitalize on The Market Common’s grand opening. He purchased the shabby building that Toffino's located in, along with roughly 3 acres for about $200,000 when the base closed 13 years ago. His plans to build a more spacious restaurant and seven townhomes, which he plans to sell, is projected to cost $6 million. Pecora already has some preliminary blueprints finished and is excited to move forward.

Toffino's relocated to the former air force base in June of 1994. Pecora expected the air force base to be redeveloped shortly after, but those efforts were stalled for years as county and city officials came to a consensus of what to build.

Pecora is excited to possibly regain the thousands of dollars he missed out on due to being secluded on the base.