Surfside Beach pier officially opens after final inspection
SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The new Surfside Beach pier officially opened on Thursday amid a celebration of the town’s 60th birthday.
The surprise opening of the pier brought with it the opening of Drippy’s Homemade Ice Cream and coincided with the birthday party featuring music and food.
“I expect some of you were hoping for an announcement on the pier’s opening, so I do not want to disappoint,” Mayor Robert Krouse said. “The town of Surfside Beach would appreciate if you would all join me at the pier opening right now.”
The opening came up the pier underwent a final inspection earlier in the day. The town had already received a certificate of occupancy in late February.
The concrete pier has been under construction since December 2020. It replaces the former pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.
Initially, the pier was first expected to be walkable in July 2022, but after a series of delays and miscommunications that date was pushed back. Since then, Collins Engineering kept in close contact with the town council giving them update after update.
Finally, during Tuesday night’s town council meeting, it was announced that the pier would have a final inspection in the morning before the 60th birthday celebration.
Krouse said the pier passed the inspection and he was glad to finally be able to welcome people on the pier.
“It’s great, absolutely great,” Krouse said. “It’s a lot of fun, we were able to keep it a surprise and the reaction, everything I’m hearing is great.”
Crowds flooded the pier after Krouse made the announcement. Cheering and clapping were the immediate reaction.
Drippy’s opened at the same time the pier did. The owner said it’s been a long time coming, but she’s glad they were ready when the pier finally opened.
“I mean we would have rather it open sooner rather than later, but I think overall we’re just really excited that it’s open,” Tiffany Dwigginns said.
Resident Lindsay Hickman said that as someone who’s lived along the Grand Strand all her life and got to experience the old pier, she’s excited the new one is open.
“I’m so proud of Surfside the way they’ve come together, our community,” Hickman said. “How just everyone has worked together to build this up and I’m really, really proud to be from this area and to see the success it’s going to be.”
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Krouse said the opening dates for the pier’s other businesses — two restaurants and Perry’s Bait and Tackle Shop — are still being decided.
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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and X, formerly Twitter. You can also read more of her work, here.
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