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After a Garden City resort was evacuated due to structural concerns, the inn’s engineer of record has identified a "fall zone boundary," according to a map released by Horry County Government.

The Kingfisher Inn, at 100 N. Waccamaw Dr., is expected to be closed for the coming months after its engineer found issues with the foundation. The resort's engineer has not determined that there is an imminent danger that the building will fail, an Horry County building official said in an April 3 letter.

Following last week’s evacuation, a letter was sent to Kingfisher property owners, as well as nearby owners, showing a fall zone boundary.

In a letter to Horry County, Saul Martinez of Martinez and Associated Structural Engineers said the firm observed “progressing movement” of the inn’s foundation system. He recommended that the building be evacuated.

Following the notification to the property manager and the board of directors of the Kingfisher on March 26, the inn closed last week and everyone inside was safely evacuated after the property owner’s engineer of record expressed concerns about the structure.

Upon notification of the engineer’s determination that a closure would be needed, Horry County Code Enforcement initiated standard evacuation protocols at the location.

Martinez wrote in the letter that they recorded spalling at the balcony side of a majority of the fourth-level units, cracking at all levels at the balcony side and newly observed separation cracking and spalling at the stairwells and corridors “continues to present an increasing instability” of the structural frame and deep foundation.

County officials released the following statement on Friday:

“Horry County Government remains in contact with the property owner, management, and Engineer of Record for the Kingfisher Inn in Garden City, South Carolina.

"The Engineer of Record for the Kingfisher Inn has provided Horry County with a map of the theoretical ‘fall zone area’ for the structure.

"Out of an abundance of caution, based upon the information provided by the engineer of record for the property, Horry County Code Enforcement is providing notice of this information to all properties adjacent to or within the potential “fall zone area.

"The property remains under the custody and control of the private property owner, management, and Engineer of Record. Horry County continues to monitor the situation.”

News partner WMBF News spoke with visitors who were relocated due to the evacuation.

“They said my room was ready, and I was heading this way, and then I got a phone call that they were evacuating,” Deloris McCrea, who was planning to stay at the hotel, told WMBF News.

Earlier this week, the inn’s management met with county officials. The Kingfisher sent an email to property owners after the meeting stating that “intrusive repairs” would be necessary, meaning that the inn would be closed through the summer and possibly into the fall. The cost of the project is estimated to cost more than the inn’s existing reserve funds, the email states.

“While this is not the news hoped for, it was good to learn that your beloved Kingfisher Inn can be repaired,” the email states.

Management said it is working with the board of directors to review the project’s scope and cost, with hopes of notifying the inn’s owners around April 15.

Hannah Strong Oskin is the executive editor of MyHorryNews. Reach her at 843-488-7242 or hannah.oskin@myhorrynews.com. Follow her on X @HannahSOskin.

GARDEN CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — Age and location were an engineer’s main reasons for closing and evacuating a Garden City hotel Thursday.

Structural engineer Saul Martinez told News13 Friday, there are concerns something is happening underneath the Kingfisher Inn.

The Kingfisher Inn, built in 1960 with precast tiling known for its resistance to weather events like storm surges, has a foundation depth of only 40 feet. A foundation depth Martinez identified as a significant concern.

This depth falls short of the 80 feet, which is now standard for coastal properties, raising red flags about the building’s stability.

Martinez said in light of similar situations happening along the coast of Florida, the decision to shut down the Kingfisher Inn was deemed necessary to avoid a potential disaster.

Christine West, got a call about the evacuations just before arriving to check-in.

“They handled it completely professionally,” West said. “I don’t feel like we were put out at all. They upgraded us to a two-bedroom condo. So, it was really just great. And I loved that level of customer service.”

West expressed gratitude for the swift action taken by officials and said she thought about similar situations happening in Florida when she received the call.

“I’ve been in construction for decades,” west said. “And I understand what it takes and what’s going on. And for reasons like what we saw in Florida, we have to learn unfortunately, we have to learn sometimes from big mistakes.”

The hotels management, the engineer, and the county are meeting April 1 to discuss the next step.

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Savannah Denton joined News 13 in July 2023 as a reporter and producer. Savannah is from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. Follow Savannah on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.

The calm waters of Murrells Inlet are a sight to behold.

Watching the boats go by and the occasional sighting of an egret playing in the salt marshes makes it a priceless view. And now, Garden City residents can do it from a bird’s eye perspective with a cool drink in their hand and a tasty dish of their choosing.

The Marlin Quay Marina opened The Quay Seafood Grill to the public Wednesday, July 12. For starters, customers can get appetizers like the Garden City Ceviche, a shrimp and scallops dish marinated in citrus and lime juice topped with mangos, peppers, jalapenos, red onions and mandarin oranges.

After that, patrons can get entrees like the Southern Special chicken sandwich or the Fried Flounder Stack with three fried pieces of fish doused in tartar sauce and complimented with a pickled lemon on a brioche bun.

All the while, customers can help themselves to an original Quay mixed drink creation. One such beverage is the Quay Juice, a rum-based cocktail accompanied by pineapple juice, sprite, blue curacao and triple sec.

People who order the Quay Juice can get it in a tumbler that they bring back for refills.

Another popular option is the Chunky Martini filled with Kahlua, banana puree and chocolaty delight.

“It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever eaten,” Owner and Manager Chris Lawhon said. “Whatever you want, we got you.”

Other popular items so far have been homemade crab cakes, Quay burgers, seared tuna and tacos. One thing that makes The Quay unique is where it gets its fish.

The restaurant has its own commercial boat that catches its food in the Atlantic Ocean, and The Quay will begin specials based on its haul probably next month.

“We’re big on plating,” Lawhon added. “Everything comes out looking great. I’m a firm believer that you can have something that tastes amazing, but if it’s not plated right, it’s just like meh.”

The Quay is run by father-son duo Mark and Chris Lawhon. The new restaurant gets its name from the marina The Lawhons bought in 2014, which previously housed the Marlin Quay Bar & Grill.

“Growing up, everyone always called this place ‘The Quay’ so I was like we’ll call this (restaurant) ‘The Quay’.”

The restaurant did two soft openings the prior week, and Chris said patrons liked the food, and the restaurant’s Facebook page received a lot of attention.

“We’ve sold a bunch of everything,” Chris said. “(Customers have said the) food’s great, drinks are great and the view is awesome.”

The Quay is on the second and third floors of the marina. Customers can either eat indoors on the second floor, a giant blue marlin will greet them as they enter the dining room, or on the patio overlooking Murrells Inlet.

If customers want to look out at Garden City from above though, they can walk upstairs and take a seat at the rooftop bar or one of the many tables.

Combined, the two floors can seat 110 people, and the restaurant has a local, family-friendly atmosphere.

“You can come off the beach, come off the boat, bring your wife or husband to a good dinner in the sunset,” Lawhon said. “We’ve always wanted to keep that family feel that local feel and to share the lifestyle of Murrells Inlet with our customers, wherever they may be from.”

Currently, the menu is scaled back during opening week and in the immediate future. More items and drinks will be added to the menu Lawhon said, including salad. The Quay is also planning to host entertainment nights like live music, karaoke.

The Quay is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The restaurant is located at 1508 S Waccamaw Dr Suite B. Lawhon said the eatery is looking to hire more staff.

“We still need more positions,” Lawhon said.

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - The eight guests who were left on an African island nation by their cruise ship are back on the ship on Tuesday.

In a statement, Norwegian Cruise Line said the eight were set to rejoin the ship in Dakar, Senegal.

The group was originally supposed to reboard on Monday in Banjul, Gambia, but the ship could not dock safely due to the weather.

Norwegian Cruise Line said their protocol means guests are typically responsible for any travel costs to rejoin the ship at the next port of call, but Norwegian will reimburse the group because of the weather issues.

The guests, which include a Garden City couple, Jill and Jay Campbell, haven’t been back on the ship since March 27, while the ship was in São Tomé and Príncipe, an African island nation.

Norwegian Cruise Line said the guests were on a private tour and did not make it back in time.

“We were waiting for the tender boats to come back and get us because our boat was anchored off the harbor, but they didn’t come back to get us, so we’re stranded here,” said Jay Campbell.

The cruise line said all guests were told about 3 p.m. all aboard time, but the eight guests missed it by more than an hour. It added that their passports were left with the local port agents for retrieval.

Norwegian Cruise Line explained that it works closely with local tour operators to ensure excursions are planned to the cruise line’s schedule to guarantee timely arrivals back to port. The cruise line said since the group was on a private tour, it was not in communication with the tour operator.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Cruise line responds after Garden City couple among those left behind on African island

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The Campbells were eight days into the 21-day cruise, which started in South Africa, when they were left.

Norwegian Cruise Line claimed that once the guests did not make it back to the ship at the all aboard time, it worked with them and the local port agent to help with obtaining the necessary visas for them.

”Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed for the guests to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call,” the cruise line said.

The cruise line also said another guest was “medically disembarked” on March 27 while the ship was in São Tomé and Príncipe.

After leaving a hospital on the island, that guest was escorted on a flight to Portugal, “and then put in the care of airport staff to continue her journey to the United States,” Norwegian Cruise Line said.

Stay with WMBF News for updates.

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