Mobile Home Sales in Surfside Beach, SC

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - You might start getting into the holiday spirit after Thanksgiving, but one local artist nicknamed Tommy Christmas stays in the zone year-round making handmade holiday decorations.

Tommy Christmas said he actually got into making wooden creations by accident three years ago.

“I did a job with my family, and I took home a piece of plywood. My brother handed it to me and said, ‘go make a Grinch’. So, I made a Grinch,” said Tommy Christmas.

He said the very first six-foot-tall Grinch he made from wood sold within 20 minutes.

So, he started up a Facebook page and the business took off.

Now, Tommy Christmas recently moved into a workshop because he simply outgrew his garage where orders for his handmade Christmas decorations started piling up.

He spends all day in his workshop making Christmas decorations year-round, and his most requested item is still his original Grinch.

I asked Tommy Christmas why he enjoys working nonstop on his Christmas decorations and his answer was pretty simple.

“I love Christmas. Who doesn’t love Christmas? I’m here, everybody loves Christmas in this state. They love Christmas. Everybody does. So, that’s what I know. That’s what I do and that’s what I do best. So, that’s why I do it. I love it,” said Tommy Christmas.

He said he’s sold over 200 decorations this year and is already planning to make another 100 Grinches next month for a big order.

However, he doesn’t only spend his time cutting out six-foot Grinches.

Tommy Christmas also brings holiday cheer to storefronts across the Grand Strand.

You’ll find his Christmas paintings on businesses and Restaurants in Myrtle Beach, Conway, Georgetown, North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Murrells Inlet and Surfside Beach.

Tommy Christmas said, at the end of the day, carving wood and making decorations for you and your family to enjoy is not only what he spends most of his time on but what he enjoys doing the most.

“I’ll watch a couple of Christmas movies as I’m going along and keep the door open if people want to come in for the last items for Christmas. I enjoy this. I like doing this. I like when the little kids come in here when they’re gonna pick up their stuff. That’s what I enjoy,” said Tommy Christmas.

He says his goal for next year is to put up a big sign on the front of his shop so people will know where he is.

He also wants to set up a workshop outside for kids to paint small wooden decorations.

You can find pictures and videos of Tommy Christmas’ work on his Facebook by clicking here.

His shop is located at 411 Highway 17 South in Surfside Beach.

You can also reach him at (516) 314-4793.

Copyright 2022 WMBF. All rights reserved.

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) -- Since being destroyed in 2016 by Hurricane Matthew the process of building a new pier in Surfside Beach has been far from quick and easy.

After nearly seven years of planning, designing and construction Surfside Beach Mayor Bob Hellyer said they’re just months away from construction being completed.

While there’s not an official grand opening planned just yet Mayor Hellyer said the contractor plans to wrap construction on April 16 handing the pier officially over to the town of Surfside Beach.

As construction workers finish up the final phase of the Surfside Beach fishing pier the town’s pier committee is making sure everything is in place for an eventual grand opening celebration.

“It needs to be the grand party of all parties,” said Tabitha Mull.

Before any party planning can begin the pier committee is making sure every detail is perfect before officially opening to the public.

“There’s a lot of things to look at just to make sure the overall experience is as enjoyable as it can be,” said Robert Krouse.

One of the topics discussed by the pier committee was if the pier will have an official closing time, specifically for those looking to night fish or get out before sunrise.

“It’s going to be a growing and learning process that first year,” said Krouse.

Currently the Surfside Beach Diner and Painters Homemade Ice Cream are the only two tenants on the pier, leaving two spots still left to fill.

“We’re just looking into something the public would want and we’ve got some people very interested in it,” said Hellyer.

The pier committee says once construction is complete the pier might not be open to the public right away but feels they’ll be ready for their first summer with an open pier for the first time in nearly seven years.

“It’s been a long process but watching over this last year it feels different and to anyone interested I’d say come and try it out,” said Krouse.

The pier committee and town council understand the first year of the pier being open is going to be a learning phase, which includes no admission for the pier in its first year.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

A new coffee cafe has opened in Surfside Beach — bringing a much needed business to the area.

Milk and Honey Coffee Bar opened on Dec. 13, and is located at 351 US-17 BUS in Surfside, next door to The Original Valentino Italian restaurant and LA Nails.The cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day except Monday.

The cafe is run by Mason Zeglen, a Surfside Beach resident and two-time winner of “Guy’s Grocery Games” on the Food Network, as well as a former contestant on “The Big Brunch,” a cooking competition show that aired on HBO Max in November.

Milk and Honey Coffee Cafe is bringing unique pastries and coffee drinks to the location, such as an espresso tonic and cruffins — a pastry made with croissant dough in the form of a muffin with filling inside.

Since opening last week, the feedback from the community has been “phenomenal,” Zeglen said.

We’ve had a really strong following already,” Zeglen said. “We’ve had people come in multiple times, you know, even in the first week.”

Only have of the cafe is currently open, leaving a large open space on the other side. Zeglen said he was leaning towards putting a plant store on the other side in the future. For now, the cafe aims to grow for a little longer and become a place for the community.

“We really want this to be that local hangout spot,” Zeglen said. “We want to offer up this cool space to hang out, sip a cup of coffee, eat a little bit of food, get a good start to the day.”

Zeglen said he chose this location for affordability and lack of competition, after traveling the U.S. three times in the last six months trying to find a location for a business.

“I kept falling into the same situation of not being able to afford a place that I really love or there not being any opportunities to get my foot in the door,” Zeglen said.

Local shops in the area have shown their support already, Zeglen said. An employee at Delta Dispensary said that it was nice to have someone in the area open during the mornings, since most businesses on the block have only night hours.

“It’s nice to have them in the area,” Sabrina Papotto, owner of Delta Dispensary next door said.

This story was originally published December 22, 2022, 8:00 AM.

After months of wrangling and several unsuccessful efforts, the Surfside Beach Town Council voted this week to keep the first three feet of the right-of-way adjacent to public streets clear.

The ordinance in various forms has been discussed since earlier this year but failed to get a majority approval until Tuesday. It passed on a 4-3 vote.

The new policy says because of safety issues, the first three feet of a public right-of-way has to be clear of any obstructions with the exceptions of those placed by town, state or federal officials. These exceptions can include mailboxes and the three square feet around them, street trees, legal signs, sidewalks, utility poles and legal street parking.

Where the right-of-way extends beyond three feet, a property owner can apply for an encroachment permit for “soft” landscaping that does not exceed 36 inches in height and doesn’t block the line of sight for oncoming traffic. The encroachment can’t include any permanent structure.

Previously, town officials said they had identified 400 or so cases in town where residents had placed objects in the rights-of-way including trees, fences, shrubbery and even large boulders. Some residents said they did this to keep people from parking in their yard and destroying their landscaping.

A parade of residents Tuesday night argued that for years no one had ever said anything about keeping the right-of-way clear.

Town resident Larry McKeen said there are lots of trees along Surfside Drive and other places that are going to have to come down if the ordinance is strictly enforced. He said the town shouldn’t make residents take down their trees while the town can keep its trees.

“I can see lots of lawsuits coming out of this,” he said.

Harry Kohlmann accused the town of being the “biggest perpetrator of ordinance violations” when it comes to the right-of-way issue.

“Why are you being like the Feds by saying ‘do what I say, not what I do,’” he said.

Councilman Chris Stamey agreed with the speakers. He said the ordinance is a violation of the residents’ property rights. Stamey offered an amendment to have the right-of-way part of the ordinance removed, but that motion failed.

William Kinken also tried to amend the ordinance by having the entire section dealing with encroachments deleted until later, but that, too, failed.

Public Works Director John Adair said municipalities and other governmental entities across the nation have always had the right to control what goes into a public right-of-way such as signs, sidewalks and the like.

Adair added that any protected trees would not be removed to enforce the new law.

Councilman Michael Drake said the issue is simply that the three-foot right-of-way does not belong to the adjacent property owner and the owner doesn’t have the right to put anything there.

Agreeing with the new restrictions, councilwoman Cindy Keating said the measure is a reasonable way to enforce the clear cut zone throughout the town.

The ordinance passed with Stamey, Kinken and Paul Holder voting against it.

SURFSIDE BEACH — The future of the 17 acres housing Wild Water & Wheels in Surfside Beach remains in limbo; however, the decades-old amusement park will never open again.

Plans were submitted in October to the town’s planning department that would demolish the water park in favor of a combined multifamily and commercial development.

A proposed amendment was added that would allow Wild Water & Wheels to remain open until the redevelopment plan moves forward, but founder Mark Lazarus told the Surfside Beach Planning Commission on Nov. 1 that his family has no plans to reopen next season.

“I would love to keep it open, I really would, but it’s just not possible,” Lazarus said.

Lazarus told the commissioners that his family borrowed a lot of money to build Wild Water & Wheels and continued to put money in to upgrade it over the years, which resulted in a sizable debt.

Located at 910 U.S. 17 South in Surfside Beach for more than 30 years, the seasonal water park featured 24 different water slides and attractions, including miniature golf and go-carts.

“I still have significant amount of debt,” Lazarus said. “I’m not selling this because I’m going to get rich and I’m going to go retire. That’s not the case. The case is I’m going to pay off the debt.”

Lazarus Entertainment Group, operated by the former county council chairman, also owns the Myrtle Waves Water Park and the Broadway Grand Prix in Myrtle Beach. The family formerly ran amusement parks on the south end of Myrtle Beach and in North Myrtle Beach where a Food Lion grocery store now sits.

Lazarus said that like many others, the cost of business has gone up “tremendously” and it’s harder to attract and retain employees. Additionally, he said nearby campgrounds are now offering similar amenities.

“The schools are going back earlier,” Lazarus said. “They’re getting out later, which you’d think a hundred-day season that we traditionally always had, is down. I think this past year we got 65 full days.”

“We’ve got campgrounds that were major feeders that now have their own little water parks that keep the people in,” he added. “If it was generating revenue to where we could sustain it, I’d keep it open but it’s just not viable.”

Lazarus said he has tried for three years to find a major corporation to come in and invest so he would be able to keep the park open.

“They wouldn’t do it because the numbers are not there,” Lazarus said.

Any proposal will need favorable votes from the Surfside Beach Planning Commission and City Council before moving forward.

Plans for the nearly 17 acres are broken down into two districts, commercial and residential, with a majority of the land slated to house four, four-story buildings with 335 units, ponds and a proposed pool.

A two-acre commercial district is proposed to sit at the front of the property along the frontage road according to the application filed by Conway-based developer Diamond Shores, but no other details on what could be included on the site were not shared.

Under the application, engineering and design are slated for late winter and early spring 2023 with a period for permitting set for spring and fall of 2023. Construction wouldn’t begin until winter 2023 with an estimated completion sometime in summer 2024.