Roofing company in North Myrtle Beach, SC

Carla Williams eases into a chair at one of the many tables scattered around Oscars Food and Spirits.

She looks comfortable as she talks about the eatery’s history, but then again, she should be. Williams has been a well-known presence at the North Myrtle Beach restaurant and bar for 38 years. The only one that could outshine Williams is her late husband, Freddy.

Oscar Frederick Williams owned and operated the local neighborhood restaurant that opened in 1988. And while it is called Oscars, everyone knew the owner simply as Freddy. If anyone did come in asking for Oscar, “we knew they were selling something,” Carla said.

After Freddy’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2008 at age 53, Carla continued to run the restaurant without her longtime partner. “Failure was not an option,” she said.

But after 20 years of going it alone, Carla felt it was time for her to pass the torch. Last month, she sold the restaurant to a local group of investors.

Immediately after it was announced, hundreds of people took to social media, begging the new owners not to change a thing at the Pittsburgh-themed joint, especially the menu and the atmosphere that has been a big draw for both locals and tourists over the years.

But Marc McDowell, one of the three new owners of Oscar’s, is not overly concerned about the worriers.

There will be some changes, he said, but the partners aren’t planning to change the core of Oscar’s.

“We think Oscar’s is an iconic thing,” he said. “What people know Oscar’s for, the menu, is not going to change.”

‘The character behind the business’

Freddy and Carla met after she came into his restaurant wearing a red top, red skirt and red shoes. She sat down at the bar and ordered food.

Carla immediately caught Freddy’s eye, greeting her with, “Hello, beautiful!” He ended up asking her out and the couple dated for six months before they married.

Their meeting happened at the former location of Oscar’s, just up the street at what is now the Rockefellers Raw Bar. Freddy moved his bar and restaurant to its current location at 4101 Highway 17 South five years later.

Carla said her husband always had his eye on the building, although it had gone through five businesses in five years. When Carla asked him why, he said, “’Because I like it and I want it.’ I’ll never forget him saying that,” Carla said.

When the restaurant switched locations, Freddy laid out the new place so it resembled the old, even down to the shape of the bar and palm trees. But the palm trees became a source of frustration for Carla who constantly hit her legs and shins on the base while delivering food. Eventually Freddy had them removed.

“We wanted them to feel like it was home,” Carla said of the restaurant’s decor.

The business has been for years a favorite neighborhood sports bar.

Freddy had been a boilermaker in Pennsylvania for 15 years. He had vacationed in the area for years and had always wanted to open a coastal bar, Carla said. It is known as a Pittsburgh bar, a haven for Steeler fans and a place where other sports followers could gather for a beer, food and watch the game.

The bar has two picture tables that are filled with photos of longtime customers. Many of them are now gone, Carla said. But their children and grandchildren still come, she said.

Freddy’s interest in sports is all around the restaurant, as football helmets and posters cover the walls and shelves. But his collection didn’t stop there.

Among the other many manly items of collector cars and matchbook covers of long-gone Myrtle Beach area restaurants and bars was a collection Disney characters. And while it’s easy to think that the Disney items were Carla’s touch, in fact, “He was the Disney fan,” she said.

The other collectibles will remain with the restaurant, even the life-size Laurel and Hardy statues that greet customers as they walk in, and the giant photo of Freddy, taken from his driver’s license, that hangs at the back of the restaurant. It is a favorite of diners, who often take their picture with the picture. However, the Disney items are personal for Carla, and she has taken them home.

At the restaurant, Carla handled the people and Freddy was the PR guy, Carla said. “He was the character behind the business,” she said.

Carla tears up when she recalls the day two men in military uniforms came into the restaurant and sat down at the bar. Carla let them know she was going to pay for their meal, thanking them for their service.

One of the men then asked if she was Freddy’s wife. She said she was, and the man told her that they were in Afghanistan when they heard about Freddy’s death. The men said afterward they sat around a fire in that foreign country, talking about their memories of Oscar’s.

The exchange took place two years after Freddy’s death, but it’s something that she hasn’t forgotten all these years later when she thinks about how much her husband meant to people.

What changes will be made to Oscar’s?

Carla admits she had a little anxiety for 15 minutes after selling the bar. But now, she knows she made the right decision.

McDowell bought the restaurant along with Kevin Richard, who owns Captain Archie’s in Little River with McDowell, as well as Chuck’s Steak House in North Myrtle Beach, and local attorney Roger Roy.

McDowell, who is a lifelong Horry County resident, said the partners are working to preserve the legacy of the restaurant.

“We are all customers of Oscar’s,” said McDowell, who has been friends with Carla for years. “I think the first place I ever ate a chicken wing was at Oscar’s in college”

There are plans to upgrade the restaurant, including the televisions and adding video screens; new flooring, new furniture and bar stools.

“They’ll recognize the menu, they’ll recognize the staff,” McDowell said of the restaurant. “I think what people will say as they walk in is, ‘Man, it looks great in here, it looks fresh.’”

Carla said what people don’t realize is that if Freddy was still living, he would have already made many of the alterations that are being planned. “He was the king of change,” she said.

Marc said there is pressure to maintain the level of atmosphere and service that Oscar’s has had over the years. “Oscars is a lot of things to a lot of people,” McDowell said. “We feel like it’s a duty to a community.”

And people won’t see the last of Carla. She’s considering coming in now and then and being a hostess “I haven’t quit in 38 years,” she said.

“When can you start?” McDowell said laughing.

Snow expected to fall for hours

(Updated 6:21 p.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

Horry County is already seeing snow Saturday evening.

By 5:30 p.m. snow had begun to accumulate on roadways and rooftops in the Conway and Myrtle Beach areas.

Myrtle Beach appears to be an area being watched as heavy snow is expected later Saturday night, according to NWS warning coordinator meteorologist Brandon Locklear. Locklear said that residents can expect heavy snowfall to begin about 10 p.m.

After that, the area can expect “a good 5 to 7 hour period of decent snow,” Locklear said.

Horry County is expected to receive between 4 to 8 inches of snow with the possibility of higher amounts in some areas.

Myrtle Beach mayor talks weather

(Updated 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

Mayor Mark Kruea was interviewed by The Weather Channel ahead of the storm Saturday that is expected to bring between 4 to 8 inches of snow in the coastal city.

The mayor and TV crews were near Pier 14 and the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel. The Weather Channel is among several national TV stations that are reporting on the potential snowfall along the coastal Carolinas.

NWS reporters were on the boardwalk Saturday evening reporting the snow that had already covered the pathway.

The area will drop down to temperatures of single digits due to wind chills from Saturday into Monday.

Snow, sleet mixture falling

(Updated 4:48 p.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

Conway and several inland areas are seeing a snowy, sleet mixture.

The National Weather Service reported that the Myrtle Beach area is still expected to receive between 4 to 8 inches Saturday night into Sunday morning.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect through Sunday afternoon and an extreme cold warning has been extended through Monday.

Airport seeing flight cancellations

(Updated 8:52 a.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

With temperatures forecasted to plunge this weekend, Myrtle Beach International Airport is continuing normal operations, but passengers should be prepared for potential airline delays and cancellations, the airport posted on its Facebook page.

As of Saturday morning, at least 29 flights both departures and arrivals, at MYR had been cancelled. Passengers can check their specific arrival or departure flight status online here.

Snow begins earlier

(Updated 8:42 a.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

Horry County is already seeing a dusting of snow Saturday morning.

There have been reports of snow and sleet across the county, including Aynor, Green Sea, Myrtle Beach and the Conway area, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Victoria Oliva.

There have been no accumulation so far. However, neighboring Marion has seen about a quarter of an inch of snow, Oliva said.

“The main event is this afternoon,” Oliva said. “We just got an early taste of it.”

The Myrtle Beach area is expected to be blanketed in snow and swept by freezing temperatures and winds beginning Saturday, according the National Weather Service’s briefing.

Horry County and surrounding areas were placed under an extreme cold warning for Saturday night and Sunday on Friday afternoon, and expected snow onset began trending earlier, expected to start Saturday morning. Myrtle Beach is expected to get 4 inches of snow, but this snowfall could vary between 1 to 9 inches, according to the forecast.

Myrtle Beach facilities closed

(Updated 9:34 a.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

The City of Myrtle Beach has been preparing for the upcoming snowfall that the area will see this weekend.

The city announced that all city facilities will close at noon Saturday, except for the Convention Center which will continue to operate as normal with scheduled events.

North Myrtle Beach offices closed

(Updated 8:27 a.m. Jan. 31, 2026)

City of North Myrtle Beach announced that offices will be closed on Monday because of the pending storm.

In addition, Sanitation Collection will not operate on Monday. Pick-up will resume once road conditions are clear and City Hall reopens.

Polar Plunge cancelled because of cold temps

(Updated at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30)

Saturday’s Myrtle Beach Polar Plunge has been cancelled as a looming winter storm could make the plunge too polar for volunteers.

The fundraiser was set to take place at 10 a.m., but the live events at the Sands Ocean Club were cancelled on Friday ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring up to a foot of snow and extreme cold temperatures Saturday and Sunday.

The annual event raises money for Special Olympics programs in South Carolina.

For a second straight year, a snowstorm swept through the Grand Strand, bringing a winter spectacle to a place more familiar with boogie boards than sleds.

But after back-to-back years of winter storms, how unusual is it for this area to see so much snow?

Very.

While Myrtle Beach doesn't have a longstanding system of tracking snowfall, the National Weather Service has developed estimates dating back to 1940. To compile this database, the NWS researched snowfall totals from Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Air Force records. They also examined Myrtle Beach airport documents, NWS records and newspaper reports to create "an unofficial snowfall climatology" for Myrtle Beach.

What that database shows is that, prior to the latest storm, Myrtle Beach had seen just 82.4 inches of snow combined since 1940. The highest accumulations came in 1983 (7 inches), 1973 (9 inches) and the record-smashing 14 inches that arrived just before Christmas in 1989.

So yes, this doesn't happen often.

Forecasters say the reason the Grand Strand rarely becomes a winter wonderland is because the combination of cold air and moisture needed for snow is difficult to get with the warm winds coming off the ocean.

3:30 p.m. — Crews working to clear Grand Strand’s snowy roads

Crews have been working to clear snowy roads in the Myrtle Beach area, and officials are urging residents to stay home until driving conditions improve.

There have been no reports of storm-related bridge or road closures, but there have been multiple car crashes countywide.

Five wrecks have been reported in the city of Myrtle Beach since 4 p.m. Jan. 31, city spokeswoman Meredith Denari said. None of the crashes involved deaths or major injuries, but she said some roads are icy and dangerous.

"It is very slick out," Denari said. "And we are asking residents to continue to stay home and not drive."

The state Department of Transportation has been working to clear main routes, but secondary roads likely have more snow cover, Horry County Government spokesman Thomas Bell said.

With the county expected to see freezing temperatures again overnight, any water left on roadways could turn to ice.

"This is a significant event anytime there's snowfall in Horry County, no matter how much falls," Bell said. "We just want people to enjoy it safely, make good decisions, and certainly the safety issue when it comes to refreezing tonight will be something we want folks to heed."

Road conditions in Georgetown County are also hazardous and officials there have also encouraged residents not to drive.

2:15 p.m. — Sledding with surf boards in Myrtle Beach

Surf boards and trash can lids became sleds Feb. 1 as families gathered on a small hill at The Market Common’s Valor Memorial Garden to take advantage of a rare opportunity to go sledding in Myrtle Beach.

Lori Coles stood at the bottom of the hill catching her grandkids as they came flying down the gentle slope on plastic storage bin lids. This was an essential job, considering a large pond sat on the other side of her and they didn’t want anyone to end up taking a swim in frigid water.

Coles and her daughter, Alyssa Mims, laughed as the kids came tumbling down on their makeshift sleds. The snow was worn down to mud and grass in some spots, but no one cared.

On the hill, the kids were geared up in rainboots and snow-soaked gloves. The family has been in Myrtle Beach for 20 years and said they have only seen snow a few times. Mims grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and got to experience snow and sledding every winter there. Mims was glad to see her kids get that opportunity, too. She said her kids were so excited they were counting down the days until the winter storm arrived.

“It couldn’t come soon enough for them,” Mims said.

12 p.m. — With families stranded in Myrtle Beach, a dance show doesn’t miss a step

Even in a snowstorm, the show must go on.

That was the number at the NRG Dance Project competition at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Feb. 1 after 5 inches fell and stranded about 500 participants and their families.

While most all scheduled events along the Grand Strand were postponed ahead of the winter storm, the music played on for the NRG staff and teams from around the Southeast. The four-day event kicked off Jan. 29 before many of the weather models agreed on the forecast.

"The teams were already in town, so we decided it was best to move forward," NRG General Manager Melissa Lankston said. "Most of our teams are from (the region) and couldn't drive home, so they're enjoying dancing and playing in the snow. Some are seeing snow for the first time."

After Saturday night's session, Lankston said the dance teams emerged from the main hall to see it snowing sideways. Many of the participants, ages 4 through 18, dashed outside for makeshift snowball fights and to make snow angels while the L.A.-based NRG staff watched on in awe.

"Everybody is making the most of it," said NRG faculty member Eva Mitchell, thanking the convention center and adjoining Sheraton Hotel for working with them. "The workers were out shoveling the sidewalks all night and they offered extended group rates to those who need to stay longer."

Some convention center staff members also spent the night at the venue to avoid driving in hazardous conditions and to make sure the dance competition went off without a hitch.

"We come to Myrtle Beach in the summer, but this is a first," said Lisa Turner, who brought her daughter, Katie, from Pooler, Ga. "We're probably going to stay over another night until it clears up. It's not very often you get to see snow on the beach."

8:30 a.m. — Heading out to a ‘magical’ scene

Camera in hand, Christian Elia arrived at the Conway Riverwalk just after sunrise.

He wanted to see the snow.

“Magical,” he said as he stood near the blanketed banks of the Waccamaw River. “It’s completely ethereal out here.”

Forecasters said the Myrtle Beach area received about 3-6 inches of accumulation, but inland communities and those closest to the North Carolina border got more. The storm was expected to be out of the region by 9 a.m.

The North Strand saw some power outages, but Santee Cooper reported that most of those issues had been addressed. Just over 1,100 of the utility’s customers were without power as of 8:30 a.m., according to Santee Cooper’s outage map. At one time, about 4,000 customers there had no electricity.

7:15 a.m. — Which areas of the Grand Strand saw the most snow?

Communities near the North Carolina border saw the most snow overnight.

There were reports of 8 inches in North Myrtle Beach and 7 inches in Loris, said Jordan Baker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Myrtle Beach received about 5 inches and Murrells Inlet saw about 5.5 inches.

“The real winners were just either right along the state line or just north of it,” Baker said, adding that the storm dumped snow in southeastern North Carolina. “A pretty heavy band set up and there were some totals in excess of a foot there.”

The southern end of the Grand Strand didn’t see as much snow. Baker said the NWS had not received many reports from Georgetown early Feb. 1 but radar indicated about 2 inches fell there.

“Unfortunately, (the) Georgetown area really kind of didn’t get as much as they were hoping for,” he said, noting there was a report of 3 inches just north of Andrews.

The snow was tapering off around sunrise with storm expected to be out of the area by 9 a.m. But with the temperatures staying below freezing on Feb. 1, the powder wasn’t expected to melt quickly.

“We have some sunshine, which would help a very small, small bit,” Baker said. “But then tonight, inland areas get into the single digits and at the coast probably in the low teens. So this one’s going to stick around for at least a couple days.”

A pair of state statutes addressing municipal powers with respect to beaches anticipated an anticompetitive role in the market for on-beach equipment rentals, qualifying a city for state action immunity from federal antitrust law, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, affirming summary judgment for the city.

Beginning in 2020, Cherry Grove Beach Gear (CGBG) offered beach chairs, beach umbrellas and other beach wares for rent to use on beaches in and around the city of North Myrtle Beach.

CGBG also provided the opportunity to purchase equipment setup services, where CGBG would deliver the equipment to the beach and set it up for the customer’s use.

In April 2021, city officials informed CGBG that the city code prohibited it from delivering and setting up rented beach equipment on city beaches. CGBG continued its delivery and setup services.

The city then passed an additional ordinance in June 2022 that only city officials may professionally set up rented beach equipment on city beaches. CGBG continued their delivery and setup services, and the city issued multiple citations for noncompliance.

CGBG then filed suit, alleging that the city had unlawfully sought to impose an unlawful monopoly in violation of federal antitrust law.

The city moved for summary judgment, arguing that it was entitled to state action immunity from federal antitrust enforcement. The district court granted the motion and CGBG appealed.

In Cherry Grove Beach Gear, LLC v. City of North Myrtle Beach, Judges Roger L. Gregory and DeAndrea Gist Benjamin and Chief Judge Albert Diaz affirmed.

Under the state action immunity doctrine, also known as the Parker doctrine (based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1943 decision in Parker v. Brown), federal antitrust laws do “not apply to anticompetitive restraints imposed by the States ‘as an act of government.’”

Cities are not themselves sovereign, and therefore state action immunity takes hold only when cities act pursuant to state policy to displace competition with regulation or monopoly public service, the court explained.

“State immunity attaches ‘where anticompetitive activity is the ‘foreseeable result’ of a state policy – that is, where it is ‘clear that anticompetitive effects logically would result’ from a given policy or where a regulatory structure inherently displaces unfettered business freedom,’” the court wrote. “For state action immunity to attach, the state legislature must have anticipated significant municipal involvement in an industry.”

However, a “broad authority to regulate” a particular industry demonstrates sufficient intent to displace the antitrust laws, the court added.

Two state statutes were relevant to the analysis: S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-30, which articulates general municipal powers, including the authority to grant franchises and make charges for the use of public beaches, and S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-145, which permits a municipality to enter into a contract with a private company to provide beach safety services.

If a municipality elects to provide beach safety services by agreement with a private company, “the municipality may grant the exclusive right to the beach safety company to rent only the beach equipment and sell only the items to the public on the beach that are allowed by the municipality.”

As the district court pointed out, the two statutes leave no doubt as to the city’s prerogative to exclusively provide on-beach setup and rentals to support lifeguard services and displace competition.

CGBG did not dispute that the city was authorized to displace competition by granting an exclusive franchise for beach equipment installation; instead, it argued that the statute does not permit the city to effectively grant itself the exclusive franchise and the monopoly must instead belong to a private company.

The court disagreed.

“The state must have ‘affirmatively contemplated the displacement of competition,’ but it is not ‘expected to catalog all of the anticipated effects of a statute,’” the court said. “Where the City has the authority to establish an exclusive franchise, the state has created a ‘regulatory structure [that] inherently displace[d] unfettered business freedom.’ When a state grants a municipality the authority to establish a monopoly, it has plainly contemplated the displacement of competition.”

Because the state statute anticipates the city playing an anticompetitive role in the market for on-beach equipment rentals, the city qualified for state action immunity from federal antitrust law.

“The South Carolina legislature authorized the City to impose a monopoly on beach equipment installation, so the City’s monopoly does not constitute unexpected anticompetitive behavior,” the court wrote. “Indeed, it is the ‘very purpose of Section 5-7-145 to ‘displace unfettered business freedom.’”

CGBG also claimed that Supreme Court precedent establishes an exception to state action immunity when the state acts not in a regulatory capacity but as a commercial participant in the relevant market.

However, the Supreme Court has never recognized such an exception; in fact, it has suggested only that it might possibly exist, the court said.

The court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the city.

Kenneth R. Moss, II, of Wright, Worley, Pope, Ekster & Moss in North Myrtle Beach, who represented CGBG, said his client is considering filing a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This is a very bad precedent, when municipalities and counties create a legislative barrier to private business with a profit-motivated restriction,” he said. “I can’t reconcile this decision with the Supreme Court’s [FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health Sys. Inc.] opinion, where the Court made it very clear in a unanimous decision that even if the legislature gave a city express powers, they could not wield those powers in anticompetitive way. We think the 4th Circuit was tone deaf to what the Supreme Court was stating.”

Myrtle Beach attorney Elbert S. Dorn, Sr. of Maynard Nexsen, who represented the city, said the decision is important not just for the city of North Myrtle Beach, but all South Carolina coastal communities.

“Specifically, this legal ruling upholds the City’s authority to regulate and exclusively conduct certain commercial activity on the beach (rentals of umbrellas, chairs, and beach gear) to support its extensive lifeguard program and other safety related functions,” he said. “More generally, in the field of antitrust law, this case provides significant precedent for the doctrine of state action immunity, which exempts a municipality’s clearly articulated state action from antitrust liability.”

MYRTLE BEACH — With the Myrtle Beach area expecting at least 4-6 inches of snow this weekend, Horry County crews plan to convert backhoes and motor graders into makeshift snowplows.

On Jan. 29, county workers were staging the heavy equipment, which is normally used for road projects. The Grand Strand doesn’t have a fleet of snowplows because the area doesn’t often see heavy snow, so local officials are improvising.

“It’s one of those things where we will use whatever resources we have to to fit the situation we’re in,” county spokesman Thomas Bell said.

Horry and Georgetown counties are under winter storm and extreme weather watches, but forecasters say those will likely become warnings by late Jan. 30.

Brandon Locklear, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said residents could see a wintry mix during the day on Jan. 31 with the bulk of the snow falling that night.

Along with the snow, the area will also be extremely cold and windy, according to Locklear. Lows are predicted to stay below freezing through Feb. 4, with windchills making things feel even colder.

Snow is expected to stop on the morning of Feb. 1, but impacts from these wintry conditions will likely extend well into next week. Some snow will melt as the temperature climbs to around 40 degrees on Feb. 2, but it will refreeze during the night, Locklear said.

The S.C. Department of Transportation is already treating some state roads in the area. At the county, the focus will be on treating bridges and high-volume county roads.

Georgetown County Emergency Services Director Brandon Ellis said that county has initiated internal coordination efforts to prepare for the weekend weather, including bringing in extra fire and EMS staff throughout the weekend.

Ellis said SCDOT will treat the primary routes in the area, but Georgetown County could also utilize motor graders to remove snow if needed. Ellis said his main concerns are road conditions and the fact that the snow and wind could create white-out conditions.

Santee Cooper is completing its freeze protection checklist and working with neighboring utilities to make sure that everyone stays covered, the utility’s spokeswoman Tracy Vreeland said.

Area utilities are not expecting power outages from the snow, but strong winds in the system could pose a threat to power lines if trees or limbs end up falling or road conditions cause car accidents, said Jennifer Cummings, a spokeswoman for Horry Electric.

“We are going to treat this like any other storm, so crews will be on standby to respond to outages,” Cummings said.

Myrtle Beach spokeswoman Meredith Denari said the city is encouraging residents to stay home Jan. 31 into Feb. 1. She said they should plan to pick up needed groceries and prescriptions before the storm hits.