Broadway at the Beach’s future is unclear. Does the SC attraction have retail for success?

It’s quiet as you walk around Broadway at the Beach. The large circular retail center looks different from its peak season when visitors and tourists flood the site to have fun, dine and shop.

Instead, people who are there walk around, occasionally perusing the storefronts. Some are parents with their young children, while others are older couples taking a stroll or shopping.

Skip and Judy Martin are snowbirds from York, Pennsylvania, who live in Surfside Beach five months out of the year to avoid the cold. The couple were shopping in mid-February 2024; Judy likes the stores and thinks there’s something for everyone, and Skip says the aesthetic reminds him of locations he’s been to before.

“It’s a nice distraction,” Skip said. “It kind of reminds you of being on the boardwalks of New Jersey.”

While there aren’t many visitors, the New England Fishing Villages sections of Broadway at the Beach was filled with construction crews and workers loudly at work in February and March 2024. The shops are still open, but the sound of hammering and power tools fills the air as workers upgrade the facades of buildings. Some are covered in Tyvek wrap, while others have their roofs repaired; small piles of discarded shingles sit on the ground. As tourists slowly begin to return in early March 2024— the beginning of peak spring break season—the crews are still at work renovating the property.

The major renovations are a reflection of Broadway at the Beach’s importance.

According to the visitor analytics firm Placer.ai, Broadway at the Beach is the most visited shopping center in South Carolina and is one of the Grand Strand’s classic landmarks, adding new attractions periodically to keep interest and provide locals with retail opportunities once the crowds of vacations depart.

But the shoppers and vacationers Broadway at the Beach relies on are changing their consumption patterns, experts say. Consumers crave new experiences and events to draw them and are willing to pay for high-end exclusive shopping when they travel.

Places like Broadway at the Beach and its attractions provide Myrtle Beach with cash injections each spring and summer that help fuel the area’s economy of surrounding amenities that further cater to the spring and summer crowds.

Even for locals, the consequences could be serious if Broadway at the Beach fell out of favor with travelers, and while locals might not be its target customer base, they still benefit from its presence.

The site’s ongoing additions and construction suggest it is prepping to address these ever-changing trends, but its exact plans are unknown. Broadway at the Beach avoids discussing its current performance or anything with the media.

The Sun News repeatedly reached out to both Broadway at the Beach and its owner, Burroughs & Chapin, to comment on this story, and despite being one of the biggest land-owning companies in South Carolina and being founded in the Grand Strand in 1857, either refused to comment or did not return our requests.

The Sun News did contact Burroughs & Chapin Chairman of the Board Deborah Burroughs, who agreed to set up an interview with company Senior Vice President Commercial Division April Martin. Martin was never made available, and Burroughs did not return a follow-up call.

Despite its silence, Broadway at the Beach seriously impacts Myrtle Beach. For Associate Dean and Professor at the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina Mark Mitchell, the tourism economy Broadway at the Beach and other amenities like it provides, while not geared toward locals, offer utility for locals and shopping the area would not have access to without it.

“I don’t think we’re large enough to sustain all of our shopping. We’re not large enough to sustain a Top Golf,” Mitchell added. “We as locals benefit from what’s called the purchasing clout of the tourism economy that attracts people here, that we get to take full advantage of, but if you just looked at our community, it would likely be insufficient to justify the site location decision for many of our retailers.”

Here’s what you need to know about Broadway at the Beach, and its owner Burroughs & Chapin

Broadway at the Beach opened in 1995, and the 700,000-square-foot complex draws in about 12 million annual visitors — double the visitors fellow Burroughs & Chapin property Barefoot Landing does — and is the No. 1 tourist attraction in South Carolina, according to Burroughs & Chapin’s website. For context, The Sun News reported in August 2023 that 17.2 million people visit Myrtle Beach annually.

Broadway at the Beach draws in more than Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and has comparable attendance to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, according to a property brochure issued by Burroughs & Chapin’s commercial leasing and management website.

The Sun News does not know when Burroughs & Chapin created the brochure or if it is still correct because of Burroughs & Chapin’s silence for this story.

The shopping and entertainment center’s attendance was once higher, as a 2014 Broadway at the Beach blog post reported that 14 million people visited annually. Burroughs & Chapin’s current property brochure for Broadway at the Beach states that 12 million people visit annually.

Indeed, its vacationers are ready to open their wallets at places like Broadway at the Beach when they get here, CCU professor Mitchell added.

“These might be working-class folks and hard-working working-class folks, but they spend money on their toys, and they’ll spend money on their vacation,” Mitchell said. “They’ve chosen this is the place they like to come (to), and again, they’re brand loyal. (They say) ‘I’ve been coming here year after year; I used to come with my mom or my dad, and it’s such a treat for me to bring my kids or even my grandkids.”

The stores The Sun News spoke to at Broadway at the Beach concurred that the site’s peak season is when the Grand Strand is inundated with travelers making impulse purchases during spring and summer, particularly June, July and August. Some store owners The Sun News interviewed receive 45% to 50% of their annual revenue from the peak season. The rest of the year, Broadway at the Beach is far less active.

LeeAnn Hubany is a manager at The Mole Hole, a jewelry and collectibles store that was one of Broadway at the Beach’s original tenants. Hubany said Broadway at the Beach’s peak season is June through August.

“We kind of operate on a bell curve. You kind of start at the bottom right now, slowly rising up, and then June, July, August, that’s the peak, and then come fall, it will head back down,” Hubany said. “Unfortunately, the center is definitely a tourist draw ... Christmas is June, July, August.”

Mikael Mkhoyan owns Sports Fanatics and Hat Fanatic at Broadway at the Beach, opening his first store in 2009, and has worked there since 2002. Owning other locations at Barefoot Landing and the Tanger Outlets on Highway 17, his Broadway at the Beach stores’ renovations are for the peak summer season.

Aside from Broadway at the Beach leasing its stores per square foot and charging for marketing and maintenance, it also takes a certain percentage of a store’s sales if it surpasses a certain threshold, Mkhoyan said. He did not say how much his rent was, how much he was charged, and what his threshold was.

Broadway at the Beach has historically attracted visitors, but capturing the attention of future shoppers will be key to continued success. For experts, keeping current with trends in retail, diversity in shopping options, and hosting events are keys to staying relevant as a shopping center.

Why high-end shopping and providing an experience are important trends

One concern Broadway at the Beach and other similar retail centers will face is turning the next generation into returning customers willing to spend their time and disposable income there.

However, the next generation of shoppers might be much pickier with their purchasing choices. For Scott Smith, the next generation is not as easily swayed to purchase things as their parents are. 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.

“You also have kind of a generational difference where (younger shoppers are) not very materialistic, and so they’re not going to buy an ashtray or something cutesy ... Material stuff weighs them down,” Smith said. “This goes with the philosophy of you need to get away from the T-shirt shops and the cute souvenirs to niche, unique things.”

“Specialty stores now seem to be getting a lot of attention ... like a wine shop, where they specialize in good value brands of wine,” Smith also said. “Those are the type of things that appeal to not only locals but tourists that it’s unique. It’s something that speaks to you maybe not as being kitschy, but as having a little bit of personalization to it, and you’re willing to spend money on it as opposed to a T-shirt shop.”

Indeed, specialized stores and personalized experiences are present at Broadway at the Beach. The shopping center has two wineries, a barbecue and hot sauce store, a crystal and mineral store and other unique stores. Broadway at the Beach’s edition of The Hangout — a restaurant where patrons can dance on tables and go down an indoor slide— Top Golf and PopStroke, a putting course, also fulfill the experience aspect of Broadway at the Beach. Nearby places like Legends in Concert, the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center, and others also provide entertainment options.

“(Broadway at the Beach) fits a lot of the current trends, and so like indoor malls, if you’ve got stock in an indoor mall, sell it immediately because they are going the way of the dinosaur,” Smith added. “The trend in retail especially is to have these outside open locations that are colorful that have a great variety and plenty of things for kids to do.”

However, most of these specialty stores and places where visitors can have a personalized experience are not unique to Broadway at the Beach, as several are national brands and have locations elsewhere in the United States.

“You need to find unique items that are compelling,” Smith added. “There are trends out there that support that people want unique upscale items, and I think of a downtown Disney I spend time there. There’s a place you go where you can have custom signs for your home. It’s very high quality, very expensive, but it’s also something that you would put out.”

Why Broadway at the Beach’s current shopping options could be a problem

Part of offering unique experiences and exclusive shopping is having a mix of different shopping options for patrons. It also involves pairing restaurants with complementary stores or having unique features for visitors.

The shopping attracts customers early in the day, and the restaurants during lunch and dinner. Mitchell added that having a good mix of different retail helps attract customers.

When looking at Broadway at the Beach, the makeup of its shopping is generally T-shirt and apparel shops, gift shops, and candy and ice cream stores packed between restaurants. While there are exceptions, including a store filled to the brim with different knives and swords, some stores are comparable to each other or are duplicates. Along with other ice cream places, there are two Ben & Jerry’s, four sunglasses stores, two electronic stores, two different surf shops, two beef jerky shops, two drinkware stores and other similar establishments, the Broadway at the Beach map shows.

The destination also has unoccupied storefronts. At least eight buildings at Broadway at the Beach were unoccupied during a February 2024 visit, and a lease plan on Burroughs & Chapin’s Commercial and Leasing website reported that 13 units, amounting to more than 57,000 square feet, were either available or had a lease pending.

The Sun News does not know when Burroughs & Chapin published the lease plan and if it is current.

The number of empty units could be a concern if there are too many empty spaces; however, Broadway at the Beach has about 140, not including detached sites like Top Golf. Space also allows Broadway at the Beach to create new draws for tourists, who may have grown tired of the site’s current offerings. Mitchell said that open spaces give Broadway at the Beach flexibility to change and adapt its offerings to the public, which it must do to maintain interest.

“Property owners can, and you could argue ought to be somewhat selective in the businesses that they select. ... it’s natural there’s some inflow and outflow,” Mitchell said. “You hope that new shiny thing that folks want to go check out counteracts that ‘Been there done that no sense going back.’”

Broadway at the Beach is currently doing this, adding a new vegan soft-serve eatery and a putting course that is partnered with Tiger Woods and TaylorMade.

Hosting more local-friendly events could help Broadway at the Beach

Another way Broadway at the Beach can stay current is to host more events. Events catered to locals could create a new market for Broadway at the Beach apart from its tourism-heavy focus and drive business to its store during the offseason months.

“It’s no secret that you do events that attract locals and that it could be anything from car shows to craft fairs to art festivals, and that gets your locals to come in,” Smith said. “It brings in (people) regionally like if you’re a vendor, then you’re going to need to stay somewhere overnight, and you can count on them filling up your hotels and your restaurants.”

Broadway at the Beach and its stores already host events and live music, although it’s unclear how many people attend.

Indeed, shop owners host events to bring in customers during months when Broadway at the Beach is mostly empty. Emily Matula owns Gemini Boutique, a store that sells trendy, stylish clothing and jewelry for young women and teens. The boutique originated in Philadelphia, and opened at Broadway at the Beach in 1997.

For Matula, slow times, also known as shoulder season, must be productive. She partly addresses the offseason by taking her boutique to Conway, as Gemini Boutique partners with Coastal Carolina University and sponsors the school’s clear bag apparel.

“You still need that shoulder season ... If you don’t have a good summer, you’re going to have a really bad year,” Matula said. “You need that summer, but those offseason months are still very important.”

Other Broadway at the Beach spots are trying events, too. One such event is Boost on the Beach, an esports Rocket League tournament hosted in part by Coastal Carolina University and produced by students. It’s the second tournament in the event’s history, scheduled to take place March 9 and 10 at The Hangout, according to the press release for the tournament.

The tournament will feature teams from 12 universities, with people allowed to watch in person for free, and teams will compete for a $5,000 prize pool, according to a press release. Nick Matawa, an Esports subject specialist at CCU, said in an interview with The Sun News that hosting events like this at Broadway at the Beach could springboard Grand Strand esports in the future, as there are already high schools in the surrounding region who offer it.

“Imagine what you could do in Myrtle Beach. There are people wanting to come to the water; it’s a tourism destination,” Matawa said. “If we can get events going, not just collegiate, but potentially professionally in places like the convention center or maybe even on the Coastal (Carolina) campus, potentially in the future, that’s when you start to see the long-term effects on an economy.”

Why Kissimmee’s Old Town could be a model for Myrtle Beach’s Broadway at the Beach

One retail space that is similar and different to Broadway at the Beach’s current approach is Old Town in Kissimmee, Florida. Styled after a Florida town from the early 1900s, Old Town is a 133,000-square-foot walking retail district that provides usually locally-owned retail, bars, restaurants and rides with 56 tenants.

“That’s what brings people in, and I think that’s why we have been successful ... people are looking for something more to do,” Vice President and General Manager of Old Town Thearon Scurlock said. “They want to be entertained in whatever way that may be, but you have to do something more than just have restaurants and shops. I think you’re going to have to create more of an experience for people.”

Old Town also tries to limit the number of retail spaces offering similar things, not wanting to create competition between its spaces that could cannibalize the demand of its visitors.

“We try not to replicate. We have a platform to sell sunglasses and tons of people who want to open a sunglasses kiosk. We won’t do that,” Scurlock added. “We’re very protective of our tenants to ensure that they can sell and survive.”

Broadway at the Beach and Old Town are similar in some ways. Both are mostly outdoors, have live music, and face competition from alternative forms of entertainment nearby that are the predominant draws in the area.

Broadway at the Beach and Old Town pull away visitors from other draws.

Broadway at the Beach contends with the beach, which, for intents and purposes, is free. It also competes with golf courses, putt putt places, and many other tourist-friendly sites. Meanwhile, Old Town has to pull visitors from places like Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, designed to keep its customers on the property. Old Town does this by offering a lower-priced experience and free parking.

Both places are also different. Old Town is known for its Friday and Saturday car shows; it has hosted the Saturday show for 34 years. Scurlock said as many as 400 cars participate when the shows are in season.

“We have very high standards of quality cars,” Scurlock said. “When you’re looking at any given Saturday, there’s 300 cars. We have $100 million worth of vehicles on our property at any given time.”

Scurlock added that 50 percent of Old Town’s visitors are locals, and due to the large Hispanic population nearby, it hosts events and festivals catering to their Hispanic culture. The key is that Old Town is more experience-driven than retail-driven and meant to be exclusive, Scurlock added.

Broadway at the Beach offers a mostly outdoor shopping experience with a low barrier to entry, free admission and hosts events. While it could face trouble with its current mix of shopping and the need for more high-end, unique options, Broadway at the Beach will probably be fine.