Culinary events, new breweries and restaurants provide renewed reasons to visit Myrtle Beach

“We’re excited to see an increase in culinary offerings at a time when a number of food focused events are being held during the fall months,” said Karen Riordan, president, and CEO of Visit Myrtle Beach. “The temperatures are prime for these mostly outdoor culinary experiences that allow visitors to get a little more of that Summer vacation feeling, something we call Summore Season at The Beach, this year.”

Here’s the latest news on where travelers can extend their summer with Summore Season and expand their taste buds at The Beach.

Tasty Events + Festivals

• World Championship Chili Cookoff (September 17-19): Featuring over 500 flavors of award-winning chili for your sampling pleasure! Kick back and cool off in the VIP Lounge and four beer gardens onsite. Enjoy live music all day long, a cornhole tournament, Family Fun Zone, Shelby Car Show, chili cooking class, hot wing eating contest. Interactive programs are also available for young and old chiliheads alike! Children can learn the ins and outs of great chili with the Pepper Sprouts Chili Cooking Class. Adults interested in becoming an International Chili Society judge can sign-up for the certification class on September 16 and begin their judging career that weekend!
• Moo and Brew Craft Beer, Burger and Music Festival (September 25): Country star Mitchell Tenpenny will headline the show with four other great bands. Also enjoy unlimited sampling of 200+ great beers from the Carolinas and all over the USA. 12 local burger joints will be competing for the Moo & Brew Best Burger trophy.
• Loris Bog Off (October 16): Chicken bog is a spicy combination of rice, chicken, sausage, and pepper and is a well-known Southern local specialty. At October’s Loris Bog-Off Festival, it’s the dish of choice for thousands of attendees each year. The annual festival is home to live entertainment, arts and crafts, fireworks, and more. The festival is held on the 3rd Saturday in October each year.
• Little River Shrimpfest (October 9-10, 2021): This popular festival that happens annually along the Little River waterfront takes place every Columbus Day weekend. The fall festival draws visitors and locals outside into fall weather with excellent live jazz music and a mouth-watering shrimp cook-off.

Quench Your Thirst

• Grand Strand Brewing Company opened as the newest brewery in downtown Myrtle Beach in March offering a variety of craft brewed beers onsite, indoor/outdoor sampling experiences, and delicious food offerings. The brewery produces a variety of handmade beers available in its taproom. There is also a small, on-site commercial kitchen where local chefs and restaurants can prepare food to pair with the craft beer selection.
• Crooked Hammock Brewery also opened in March in Barefoot Landing featuring a restaurant and backyard beer garden. Crooked Hammock Brewery brings to life an all-ages backyard escape that features craft beer, indoor/outdoor seating for more than 500 guests, firepits, hammocks, a playground for kids, bocce ball courts, corn hole, and a bar that is set over the lake. The onsite restaurant features backyard cookout-inspired food such as burgers, oak-smoked baby back ribs, giant Bavarian pretzels, and savory sides such as jalapeno and cheddar cornbread, all in a pet-friendly environment.
• Twelve 33 Distillery is the Myrtle Beach area’s first and only craft production distillery regularly introducing new products from local SC farms. They also offer tours and tastings sharing their conscious effort to keep each ingredient locally sourced in a prohibition-era atmosphere. Recent releases have included their first American Agave Spirit named Rocco Locco and Toasted Republic, a creamy spirit infused with natural toasted coconut perfect for sunset sippin’ on a Carolina afternoon.

Expand Your Palate

• Did someone say jalapeno-cheddar biscuits!? A brand-new southern style kitchen just opened in July in Myrtle Beach named 10 Fold Biscuits. This boutique style fast casual restaurant serves more than a dozen menu items featuring biscuits with creative combos including fried chicken, slow-roasted brisket, and maple sausage gravy. And of course, there’s also a shrimp and grits biscuit!.
• Abundance is a new fine dining experience that opened in the Grand Dunes Marketplace in Myrtle Beach in April specializing in modern cuisine with a French influence. Everything prepared at Abundance is made in house by renowned Chef Joseph Palmitessa and sous chef John Boulanger. Owner William Tyson has also added a collection of up-and-coming art to the restaurant for personality and flair.
• Another new addition to the heart of downtown Myrtle Beach which opened in June is the Crazy Mexican Restaurant and Bar. The owner and Chef are both Mexico natives and they are the first Mexican restaurant in the area to be open 14 hours a day serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also offer karaoke and will randomly provide free or discounted meals to customers at their discretion. Rather than serve chips and salsa to arriving diners, they begin each meal with a pasta soup of the day.
• Bringing additional international flair to the Grand Strand is the Opa Opa Taverna & Bakery just opened this August in the village shops at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach. Mainly a family business with over 30 years’ experience running Greek restaurants and bakeries, authentic Greek cuisine is served from buffet-style metal food warmers and coolers including several salad options and baked goods like baklava, spanakopita and tiropita.

Visit Myrtle Beach continues to ask visitors to pack patience and visit the destination responsibly. The latest updates on COVID-19 can be found at the Healthy Travel section on VisitMyrtleBeach.com.