Wedding & Event Venue near Conway, SC

Tomorrow finally came for Alexis McDaniels on Friday, March 21.

The 18-year-old Marion girl stood in line with her mother, Jessica Sawyer, dressed in a vivid and fuchsia gown, and giddy with excitement.

She was about to walk the red carpet, and make a grand entry to the 2025 Shine Prom at The Rock Church at 1408 Mill Pond Road in Conway.

“Ever since she got her dress three weeks ago, she’s been asking ‘When is the Shine Prom,’” Jessica Sawyer said. “I kept telling her, ’tomorrow, tomorrow;’ tomorrow finally came today."

Conway’s biggest red carpet event of the year is for residents with special needs and exceptional abilities. And it gets bigger every year.

Attendees walk the red carpet between cheering volunteers lined four deep. They parade past a line of beauty queens, mascots and super heroes. They squeal and hug their friends.

Each prom attendee is crowned a king or queen, and picks up a swag bag at the desk in the church, which is decorated with stars and balloons in abundance.

They’re dressed in prom attire — tuxes provided by The Rock; gowns compliments of the Ekklesia Christian Church. That’s augmented with bling like party glasses, necklaces and glow sticks.

Dinner is served cafeteria style, with heaping plates of party foods including fried chicken, chicken strips, chicken bog and mac and cheese, plus drinks and dessert.

There’s an activity room, a beauty salon, a crafts room. Carriage rides and photo stations. And a disc jockey playing party tunes as the attendees show off their exceptional abilities on the dance floor in the main auditorium.

The free 2025 event sponsored by HTC attracted a record 250 attendees, and 700 volunteers who helped make it happen, doing everything from directing traffic and serving food to shining shoes, applying makeup and handing out swag bags. A good time was had by all.

Don Hardeman, who attends church at The Rock’s South Strand Campus, signed up to be one of the shoeshine boys. “I got the list of jobs and said, ‘shoe shine; I can do that.'”

His wife Denise was working in the beauty parlor, where volunteers touch up attendees hair, apply make-up and do nails.

“It takes a lot of help to put on the prom, and it’s just a good thing to do. I’m having a great time,” said Hardeman, after shining Mark Bozzo’s cowboy boots.

Bozzo, 19, of Aynor, got his boots shined after taking a carriage ride in the parking lot with his prom buddies, Grace Richardson and Riley Cooper. He was heading to the dance floor, where he hoped to hear his favorite song, Beautiful Crazy by country artist Luke Combs.

Every king and queen is assigned a volunteer prom buddy, many of them local high school and college students, who help the guests navigate the event while sharing in the fun.

Attendee Justin Wilkes, 35, of Conway, was teamed with volunteer Paul Hartman, a freshman football player at Coastal Carolina University. The pair performed on the karaoke stage, belting out Celebration by Kool and the Gang.

When told that he rocked the room, Wilkes said: “You got that right, buddy.”

Asked if he sings better than his partner, Hartman cut in, admitting as much. “I think you do, man. Justin was getting down up there."

John Rukenbred of Conway came ready to party.

On the red carpet he raised his outstretched arms, palms up, telling the crowd to pump up the volume. He gave Coastal Carolina University Mascot Chauncey a high five. He put on his crown and struck a pose for a photographer.

“Dancing and food,” Rukenbred said, explaining what he likes best about the Shine Prom. “I come every year. I’ve been thinking about this for a while."

Junior CCU football players Myles Mooyoung and La'Damion Williams were his prom buddies.

“We picked John; he’s the king,” Williams said.

So is Matthew Elvis, 20, of Conway. “That’s E-L-V-I-S like Elvis Presley,” he told a reporter.

Elvis said he was attending his fifth or sixth prom. He likes the food and the dancing. “Cotton Eye Joe (line dance) is my favorite.”

Scooter’s Coffee will soon debut the first franchise of its kind in Conway, offering a variety of sweet drinks and grab-and-go snacks.

Scooter’s Coffee, a speedy drive-thru beverage franchise, is expanding from the midwest and will open its doors March 25 at its first location in Horry County.

District Manager Taylor West said Scooter’s greatest priority is speed of service. Customers are typically served, from speaker to window within three minutes, and sent on their way with a smiley face sticker, the Scooter’s badge of honor, on their beverage, West said.

Store manager Danielle Bergamotto said many people’s preferences for their morning coffee are changing, and Scooters sets out to adapt to those changes with flavorful, energy based beverages.

“It’s not just hot coffee and espresso drinks," she said. "It’s the difference that we have that no one else has. We have Redbull drinks, we have frozen [drinks], we have smoothies and drinks with ice cream bases. It gives more especially to the younger crowd. They want Redbull drinks and quenchers and smoothies."

More Scooter’s Coffee locations are in the works for S.C. 707 near Holmestown Road and S.C. 544 near Coastal Carolina University’s campus. There will be a walk-up window for the location near CCU to accommodate those on foot.

West said she is hopeful the Scooter’s on 707 will open later this year.

The kiosks, West said, are dog-friendly and Scooter’s offers a pup cup made of milk bone and whipped cream.

Some food choices consist of breakfast sandwiches and burritos with sausage and bacon options. West said her favorite are the breakfast burritos. Bergamotto added the cake bites are unlike any competitor’s — Scooter’s cake bites have fillings.

The variety of flavors and tools at their fingertips allow for endless customizations and options for anyone to enjoy. Bergamotto said there are customer-created Facebook pages where enthusiasts share their perfected beverage recipes for others to try.

The signature drink is the Caramelicious, consisting of Scooter’s “world-class espresso,” caramel sauce, steamed milk, and topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. West said there is a limited-time promotional drink accompanying each season and this past winter featured a drink made of “The Winter Edition Redbull,” lemonade, vanilla flavored syrup and topped with cold foam.

“It sounds weird, because you’re like ‘Redbull and cold foam?’ but it was really good,” West said. She added any cold foam can be flavored with syrup and during her training “blue raspberry cold foam” was a frequent request. This spring season they offer a Lucky Charms themed cold foam.

For those less inclined to waver from their morning joe, the “Dollar Delights” keep things simple with a brewed coffee, iced or hot tea, and lemonade. They range in price according to size, a small being $1 and extra large being $4.

Scooter’s coffee beans are portioned before each shift and ground fresh with each pot of coffee. West said the company maintains a close, familial-type relationship with their coffee farmers to uphold the company’s values of love, humility, integrity and courage.

The stand-alone coffee kiosk is located at 1727 Church St., near Conway High School, and was built from the ground up over the past year. It will operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The Carolina Inn motel in Loris closed Jan. 2 to make way for a makeover.

When it reopens, under the new name Coastal Comfort Hotel, the decades-old motor lodge will be the new hotel that city business leaders have been hoping for.

“We need a nice hotel,” said Samantha Norris, executive director of the Loris Chamber of Commerce. And not necessarily to attract a share of the thousands of beach-bound tourists who stream by on the nearby Highway 9 bypass each summer.

Norris said the city has a “great” regional health-care facility in Loris McLeod Hospital, but nowhere to stay nearby when a loved one is hospitalized.

Sports tourism at the array of ballfields in the Loris Sports Complex is another reason a nice hotel is needed.

“We have softball and baseball tournaments nearly every weekend. They have nowhere to stay,” Norris said.

Same goes for persons visiting to attend family and class reunions, weddings and graduations, and events like the Loris Bog-Off Festival and the Small Town, Big Show Car Show, which will attract thousands of visitors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 19.

And when Donald Gillard of Sweet Gillard’s Production brought a 50-member gospel choir and a trombone ensemble to Loris this winter for a local production of God’s Trombones, he lamented that his theater company was forced to stay in Conway instead of in Loris due to the lack of rooms.

Hotel owner Yak Patel is stepping up to solve that problem.

He said he purchased the 32-room, 16,000-square-foot inn on 1.2 acres of land in 2007. It was constructed in 2003.

Patel said he decided to upgrade the facilities after noting the growth in the Loris area. “There’s so many new houses going up,” he said.

He also commented on the growth of new businesses in downtown Loris.

“They’re bringing Main Street back to life," Patel said.

“It’s going to be more modern,” he said of the hotel, with short-term rentals — daily and weekly — only. He plans to hire four housekeepers, three front-desk staff and a maintenance employee, and offer continental breakfasts for guests in the lobby/dining room.

He said the hotel took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it became hard to keep the property maintained. “The property went downhill.”

Now they’re playing catch-up, and more.

Patel’s son Dillon, 25, a Loris High School graduate, is moving back to Loris and will manage the hotel. “I have a few years of business under my belt,” he said, noting he previously helped operate a family liquor store.

Yak Patel’s wife and another son will also assist with hotel operations, including working with booking sites to market the independent hotel.

“Dillon and my other son, they’re the computer-savvy ones,” the father said.

Dillon Patel said the two-story structure at the intersection of Highway 701 and Fox Bay Road is being renovated inside and out, with a goal of reopening in early May, or June at the latest.

There will be a new computer and reservation system, and new signage.

Guest rooms will have new paint, stucco, lighting, mirrors, flooring and furniture, Wi-Fi and cable, and microwave ovens and mini-fridges.

The outside will be repainted a “sandyish-yellow” color. The hotel will be non-smoking, but an outdoor smoking area will be provided at the rear of the property.

Extensive landscaping is also planned with bright, red mulch.

“We’re investing a lot of money in this effort,” Yak Patel said.

“I’m excited about it, helping out at the front desk, helping with housecleaning, lots of work,” Dillon Patel said. “I’m ready for it."

Reach Casey Jones at 843-488-7261 or casey.jones@myhorrynews.com.

A North Carolina developer is proposing an 80-unit workforce housing community along Conway’s North Main Street corridor. But city council members need more time to discuss the proposal before voting.

The developer, Taft Mills Group, is hoping to rezone nearly eight acres from Highway Commercial to R3 high-density residential at Chicora Boulevard and North Main Street.

As Conway City Council was set to take its first vote Monday, March 17, leaders decided to defer the item to a workshop at the next council meeting to further discuss the proposal.

Councilman William Goldfinch, who made the motion to postpone the first reading, said he believes Conway needs workforce housing for current residents, but has unanswered questions to ask before voting.

“I do not want to become the cheaper alternative to other coastal communities in South Carolina,” he said Tuesday. “I want to take care of the people we’ve got.”

The parcel, 7.8 acres owned by Piver Corp, is located beside a property that had been approved for a KJ’s grocery store.

Goldfinch said he’s unsure if housing on the North Main Street property would be the best use for that land, citing the city’s Comprehensive Plan that identifies the property as Highway Commercial. There are no other properties in the area zoned high-density residential, city records show.

“If there are commercial opportunities that want to come in, where do they go? They’ll have to go farther out of town,” Goldfinch said. “I recognize we need affordable housing. But it’s got to be done right, and it’s got to be done to address needs that we have that are existing.”

The rezoning request was reviewed by the planning commission, which gave it a thumbs down recommendation. (The planning commission gives recommendations to council ahead of council’s votes on rezonings and annexations.)

City staff also recommended the council not approve the multifamily rezoning.

The property borders the Chicora neighborhood. City records state neighbors have expressed opposition to the request and are concerned about traffic, crime and flooding.

The parcel is not in a flood zone, but an adjacent property is, city records state, adding nearby areas have been known to flood during major rain events.

Taft Mills Group is based in North Carolina, where it has completed similar projects, as well as in Maryland.

Nate Broman-Fulks, Taft Mills Group’s vice president of development, said there is a May 19 deadline for his group to apply for tax credits for the community, which it calls Chicora Springs Trace. He added a family of four with a $55,000 income would qualify to live in the community.

Broman-Fulks said the group conducted a thorough review of Conway properties that would be suitable and they "couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to build affordable workforce housing at this site."

"It is incredibly well positioned and the best available in Conway," he said, adding site is close to amenities for future residents, including grocery stores, parks, library, doctors, pharmacies and restaurants.

He said if the rezoning for this site is not approved, the "ability to build this attainable housing using the tax credit program in Conway will be lost for this year, and potentially for years to come."

"We will take staff's feedback into consideration in the future," he said, "however, we currently have a rare and incredible opportunity with our proposed site in this year’s tax credit application round. We hope that the Council will decide to support the rezoning and allow this housing to be available to the Conway residents who are most in need of safe, and attainable housing."

In a letter to city council, Broman-Fulks said there is a “critical need” for affordable workforce housing in Conway. He said rezoning would address existing stormwater concerns, the R3 zoning would reduce the impact of traffic compared to the Highway Commercial zone, and the R3 zone would provide a transition from commercial to residential in that area.

City leaders are expected to hold a workshop on the matter at the next council meeting April 7.

City council would have to give two favorable votes on the rezoning in order for the proposed development to move forward.

CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) - Storefronts at the Coastal Centre Mall have been vacant for years, but redevelopment plans for the building have taken a step forward potentially bringing in some big-name national retailers.

“You know, you’ve got to plant the seed somewhere. We think this is it. This serves folks here in Conway in a huge way,” said William Goldfinch, Conway City Councilmember.

What many remember as a K-Mart, Goody’s, and Winn-Dixie will soon become Marshalls, HomeGoods, PetSmart, Five Below, and Ulta along Church Street.

Rise Partners, a development company out of North Carolina and Tennessee purchased the shopping mall in October 2024 with plans to bring new retail stores to Conway.

Many Conway residents expressed their excitement for the stores that could come because it will allow them to stay closer to home instead of driving 30 minutes into the Myrtle Beach area.

“I think a lot of people are excited just to have things that are actually things people want to use and go to,” said McClain Powell, Conway resident. “It’s nice because the closest ones around here are like 20-25 minutes away, down on Seaboard Street. It would be easier for me to go after work and pick up the stuff I need.”

Belk is the only stand-alone anchor store in the shopping mall, and Mirian Evans is a frequent shopper who is ready for more places to shop.

“It is open and a lot of people are moving here, and it’s growing,” said Evans. “It is great because we need more shopping around here. We have Belk, where I come all the time to shop, but we need HomeGoods and Marshalls, so everyone can come and enjoy. It is more affordable for people.”

Goldfinch expressed this development is something the city has needed for a while, and the process has been smooth.

“They recognize that Conway has a future, a bright future, and opportunity abounds here,” said Goldfinch. “I think that is why they wanted to be here. Not just to help us with additional retail stores, but they saw it as a viable, ongoing concern, and they took the initiative to come to Conway and make this happen.”

Many residents have made known that Conway needs a new grocery store, and Goldfinch said one is in the works, but nothing has been finalized.

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CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) - A group of retired attorneys is hoping to bring free legal services to those in Conway who may not otherwise have access to them.

“Having loved what I’ve done for 52 years. I decided I’ll keep doing it, but just do it for free,” said attorney Richard Lovelace.

Lovelace told WMBF News although he’s recently retired, his passion for helping people through the legal system hasn’t gone away.

One of the biggest problems he’s noticed-- inaccessible legal services.

“That’s leaving a hole in the community, leaving people with ignorance and unhappiness that doesn’t take a whole lot of time to solve. It just takes the people willing to do it,” said Lovelace.

So, Lovelace came up with his plan. He, along with four other retired attorneys, will start offering residents legal help for free.

“We’re not going to be able to be active advocates in any judicial forum for any of the people that we see, but I’ve found that 99% of people who have legal problems have them as a result of ignorance, misunderstanding, somebody told them the wrong thing, and more, they needed direction,” said Lovelace.

So, Lovelace took the idea to the city of Conway, whose officials say they’re on board.

“People have questions every day. Sometimes as simple as, ‘Do I need a lawyer to take care of this issue?’” said Conway Mayor Barbara Blain. “So, it’s a real valuable asset that we’ll have.”

And, Lovelace added the services will be wide-ranging, from landlord-tenant issues to applying for Medicaid.

“There’s a huge need across the entire realm of legal services, which can be delivered,” said Lovelace. “We’re gonna try to meet that need, or put a dent...put a dent in the vacuum.”

As of right now, it is unclear exactly when these services will start, but Lovelace said his group is ready to jump in, and hope to offer counseling five days a week.

He also said Conway is the first city to sponsor these types of services in the entire state of South Carolina.

Copyright 2025 WMBF. All rights reserved.