For years, visitors and residents on the north end of the Grand Strand have been largely left out of the retail-shopping center boom. With the Barefoot Landing, Broadway at the Beach and Market Common mega-plexes to the south, along with Coastal Grand Mall, Myrtle Beach Mall and two Tanger Outlets, those living and staying in the downtown North Myrtle Beach and Little River areas have had long drives to get some serious retail therapy.
But that is changing with the recent opening of the new Coastal North Town Center, a 368,000-square-foot retail district featuring dozens of national and regional outlets – some of them making their debuts on the Grand Strand. With stores like the Hobby Lobby and Publix grocery store, which have no other locations on the 60-mile stretch of the Grand Strand, Coastal North Town Center may be giving residents and visitors on the south side of the Strand good reasons to make the drive to North Myrtle Beach.
Hobby Lobby and Publix are among the handful of stores that have already opened their doors to the public, and several more openings are scheduled from mid-September to early October. There are a total of 21 stores that will open the doors in Phase 1 of the development with many more expected to be ready for the Christmas rush and before the busy summer season in 2015.
One of the big anchor stores that has already held its grand opening is Dick's Sporting Goods, which gives the North Strand a much needed outlet for watersports and other outdoor activities. The North Myrtle Beach area is famous for fishing, especially the nearby Cherry Grove Pier and the Intracoastal Waterway, so anglers have a new superstore to stock up on fishing gear. So do paddleboarders, kayakers, surfers and other outdoors enthusiasts.
Among the Phase 1 retail clothing and accessory stores set to open are Fashion Boutique, Mattress Firm, PetSmart, Versona Accessories and Ultra Beauty. Rack Room Shoes, Ross Dress For Less and TJ Maxx. Professional service stores include Coastal North Vision Center, Heartland Dental, Lee Nails and Super Cuts, and several new restaurants, such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Dickie's BBQ, McAlister's Deli, Menchie's Yogurt and Which Wich Deli, give visitors a nice selection of dining options to refuel for more shopping. Plans for more stores are expected to be announced in the near future.
With several stores holding grand opening celebrations and special introductory sales to draw new traffic and establish a strong customer base, so the fall and pre-Christmas shopping seasons will be great times to take advantage of the deals. Special holiday hours and promotions are also in the works, such as Columbus Day sales and Black Friday, will see the action kick into high gear at this major retail development.
Coastal North Town Center is located in the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach, just south of the junction with Highway 9 on Highway 17. Other big box stores have opened across the highway, adding to the many shopping options for those who make the trip to the north end of the Strand. Another proposed shopping center, Champions Crossing, is slated to open in 2015 just a few miles south of the Coastal North Town Center development.
(Posted: 9/29/14)
(Photo Courtesy: wbtw.com)
