One of downtown Myrtle Beach's longtime miniature golf courses is on borrowed time. Developer Steve Ghidella is moving to convert Lost Mine Miniature Golf Course at 2601 N. Ocean Blvd. into a new restaurant of up to 6,000 square feet, with plans to keep the course open through the 2027 season before clearing it for construction.
Developer Pitches Plans To City Planners
David Victoria of the Victoria Company presented the proposal at the Oct. 20 Myrtle Beach Planning Commission meeting, according to The Post and Courier. The design calls for a building with porches on both sides, according to Myrtle Beach News. Details on the type and theme of the planned eatery were not unveiled, per the same Post and Courier report, and the restaurant concept has not yet been chosen, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News.
Myrtle Beach News reports the project's representative said completion would likely take about two years, though the proposal asked for up to three years to finish. Lost Mine is expected to remain open through the 2027 season before the course is cleared, the outlet notes, putting a realistic opening no earlier than 2028, per the Sun News and the same Myrtle Beach News estimate.
Height And Parking Questions On The Table
The proposal also calls for a structure with a peak height of 40 feet, even though the property is currently zoned for a maximum of 25 feet, the Post and Courier reports. Plans call for 10 additional on-site parking spaces along with use of nearby shared parking, the outlet adds.
Ghidella, who said he is pursuing the golf course side at full speed, according to the Sun News, already owns several properties along the Grand Strand. He and partner Arez Sukarchi run RipTydz Oceanfront Grille & Rooftop Bar and Beach House Bar & Grill, Myrtle Beach News reports, and Ghidella also owns the Dead Dog Saloon in Murrells Inlet, according to the Sun News. Lost Mine sits in a part of downtown Myrtle Beach that promotes itself as the Mini Golf Capital of the World, with more than 30 courses still operating citywide, per Myrtle Beach News.
A Related Property Next Door Stays Frozen For Now
Ghidella's mini golf plans sit next to another property he purchased about a year before this reporting: the building that once housed Magnolia's at 26th Restaurant & Conference Center, according to the Sun News. He originally planned a beachwear shop there, the outlet reports, but he now says he intends to leave that building as it is and wait for a nearby hotel project to be built first.
That hotel project involves the former Sea Dip Inn, which operated for 54 years near the old Magnolia's building and is being demolished to make way for a 400-unit Drury Inn at 2608 N. Ocean Blvd., per the Sun News.
Magnolia's Name Moves On With The Anderson Family
Magnolia's at 26th operated for more than 20 years before closing in September, the Sun News reports. While Ghidella bought and operated the restaurant starting in January before it closed, the Magnolia's name itself stays with the Anderson family, according to the Sun News.
The Andersons plan to open Magnolia's Cafe this fall at 6017 U.S. Highway 701 North in Conway, the Sun News notes, a spot the Post and Courier confirms is under construction with no exact opening date set. Michelle Sturzenbecker, daughter of Magnolia's founder Bobby Anderson, previously told the Sun News the family's new café will launch this fall at that Conway address. Unlike the old buffet-style restaurant, Magnolia's Cafe will serve a traditional meat-and-three menu, according to the Post and Courier.
