New businesses at Surfside Beach Pier gear up for Memorial Day weekend

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – A new business has opened its doors on the new Surfside Beach Pier this week.

Perry’s Bait and Tackle shop opened in Murrells Inlet in 1954 and opened its second location Thursday on the pier. The family-owned business joins Drippy’s Homemade Ice-Cream Shop, which opened on the pier in March.

Perry’s co-owner, Craig Doehner said the business has been working on moving in for about five weeks, noting a list of things to get done before opening. He said he’s been counting the days to see the first customers walk through the door.

“It seems like we’ve been waiting to do this forever. It’s been probably 4 or 5 weeks of getting the store ready, getting permits, and different things we needed to do,” Doehner said. “It’s been a process.”

With the addition of the bait and tackle shop opening, those hoping to fish from the pier can do so as of Thursday.

Surfside Beach Mayor Robert Krouse said Perry’s Bait and Tackle will handle the fishing program. He also noted that signs are already posted regarding fees and directing pier-goers to Perry’s for all their fishing needs. He said the new business is a great addition to an already growing pier.

“The pier is a great structure by itself, but what makes it fun is that there’s things to do here too. You’ve got the ice cream shop, they’re doing gangbusters already and that’s just going to pick up as the summer goes on,” Krouse said.

Since opening Thursday afternoon, the bait and tackle shop has sold six fishing passes, including three annual passes.

Meanwhile at Drippy’s, General Manager Maddy Fairchild said business has been good since the shop opened. She said the shop on the pier differs from the other locations because it stays busy all day, instead of just getting busy in the evening.

She said the crowds started earlier than anticipated prompting Drippy’s to purchase more freezers for their ice cream.

“We doubled all the freezers we bought because spring break wiped us out. We were twice as busy as we expected to be. So it’s been awesome,” Fairchild said. “We’re gearing up for Memorial Day weekend, we’re expecting to drown in customers, which is very fun.”

Krouse said two more businesses are expected to open before the pier will be complete. One is a wine and charcuterie shop, which Krouse said should open soon. The other is a diner, which he said isn’t anticipated to open until the end of the summer.

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