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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The Myrtle Beach oceanfront is losing one of its landmarks.
Boardwalk Bills Bar and Grill, a staple in Myrtle Beach since 1997 and the first establishment to serve alcohol outside, will close its doors on Nov. 25.
“I’ve been here long enough I guess,” owner Bill Walls said. “We always tell everybody they named the new boardwalk after us.”
Walls wouldn’t comment on the sudden decision to close the restaurant, which he opened about 15 years ago. He had owned a similar business in his native state of Michigan.
“I’ve been doing this a long time between here and Michigan,” he said. “Probably 30 to 35 years total … it’s just the weather wasn’t as nice.”
Buzz Plyler, who owns the building Walls was leasing, said there was already interest in the location despite him not yet advertising it.
“I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I have a number of people who are interested in it but it’s a little early to mention any of them.”
Plyler, who also owns the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove and other properties along the oceanfront, had hoped to do an indoor amusement attraction but said that doesn’t look like it’s going to be a possibility right now. So, he will move forward with finding a new tenant.
“We’ve had about a dozen interested in that spot and hardly anybody knows about it,” Plyler said. “I’ve had another 100 look at a smaller location I have on the boardwalk as well.
“We do have some local people interested.”
As for Walls, he said he would take the winter off, as he usually does, before making any decision on his future in the restaurant business, but said if he were leaning one way right now, it would not be the way fans of his eatery would like.
“It’s hard to say, but right now, I would probably just call it quits,” he said. “I’m going to turn 68 years old this Sunday. We’ve already got vacation planned and paid for, so we’re definitely going to take those.
“Then, we’ll just go from there.”
