Oliver's Lodge, 4204 Highway 17 Business Murrells Inlet: Winter 2009 73 comments
Welcome to visitors from the www.city-data.com forum! If you want to see more grand strand area memories and pictures, click this link. There are posts on The Pavilion, Waccamaw Pottery and a number of other Grand Strand institutions -- Ted
[22 Jan 2010]
[12 Aug 2010]
Oliver's Lodge (pronounced as one word Oliverslodge) is the first seafood restaurant I can recall eating at.
Now, if you've read this blog for a while, you'll know I don't like seafood and never have. Nonetheless, as a kid I was always eager to go whenever we were at the beach. At that time (the late 1960s), they served a lunch menu until 5pm, and that menu had spaghetti, something I would always eat, so my folks usually tried to arrange for us to arrive just before 5 so I could have my spaghetti and the grownups could have "supper". The timing was usually touch-and-go since the place drew tremendous crowds, and getting there before 5 was no guarantee of being seated before 6.
Waiting for anything with kids is always dicey, and if there were cousins as well as my sister and me, things could very easily get out of hand, but the location worked towards letting kids "free range". As you can see from some of the pictures, Oliver's sits on a large lot fronting on Murrells Inlet itself. There were several huge trees (which are still there) and a derelict john-boat or two (now gone) as well as a dock going out into the marsh where the fresh fish were brought in each day during the time when the place was a working lodging house. In addition, the lot next door was a church which was generally vacant on weekday afternoons, so there was plenty of room to race around, and plenty of things to fool with. Best of all, the lodge's big back porch always had a low-country "joggling" board -- a long flexible plank suspended between two rocker-edged saw-horses. You could get a crowd of cousins on that going back and forth and up and down until the grownups would eventually get alarmed and tell us to take it easy.
My memory is that when we first started going, dining was mostly on the back porch which was, at that time, screened, but not air-conditioned. Aside from my spaghetti (or baked-potato or whatever I ended up having ot get if we missed the 5pm deadline), the food was basic Calabash Style fried seafood with piping hot delicious hush-puppies.
The building was always a bit ramshackle. I don't know when it stopped being a boarding house and went to restaurant only operation, but the big upstairs area was largely unused in my memory. When we started going, there was still a customer restroom available upstairs, and I always liked going up there and looking around -- by the 1970s I believe the upstairs was wholly closed to customer access.
Also in the 1970s, the owners tacked up plastic sheeting over the screen porch. And I do mean "plastic" and not plexiglass or anything solid. Whenever anyone would open a door or the air conditioning kicked in, the sheeting up over all the walls would billow in and out.
It seems to me that as the 70s went on, we went to Oliver's less and less. It's not that anyone stopped liking it, but more that other options became available as the coast commercialized. The last time I recall going with a large party of cousins was probably in the late 1970s just as my generation was heading to college. We ate inside rather than on the porch, and my cousin Mike stuck his nose in a big sawfish nose hung on the wall -- a picture that I'm sure will surface eventually. I think we also played name-that-drink charades with the bar menu.
After that, I believe the next time I ate there was the last. I think it was the early 1990s, and I was either alone or with a very small party. We (or I) was on the back porch, and I noticed that the plastic sheeting had been replaced with plexiglass. The menu was also radically different, and it was evident that Oliver's had undergone a change in ownership. The defining moment for me was when they brought out the huspuppies and I found they were served with raspberry butter. That might be good, but it wasn't Oliver's.
After that, and after I started spending a lot more time at the beach I thought of going back a number of times but somehow never got around to it. Last winter I actually made the effort, but it never worked out. I would find that it wasn't open weekdays during the off season, or that it was only open for lunch, or not open Mondays or -- that it was apparently never open.
That last was a conclusion I flirted with, but never quite committed to. After all the website was still up [try this archived version once that link goes dead] , I could see the tables set through the window, and there was no note on the door..
Finally I went back on 12 August this year, and this time it was obvious that the place was closed: There was a big bar across the front doors, Coke had put a sticker claiming the fountains inside and the place was seriously overgrown. All these photos except 2, 3, 4 & 5 come from that visit.
So when did the place actually close for the last time? That's hard to say, but look at photos 2, 3, 4 & 5. These were taken on 22 Jan 2010. In particular, look at the place settings on the back porch table. Although a chair has been moved, it is clear to me that the napkins, plates and silverware in the 22 Jan photos are exactly the same as in the 12 Aug photos. So, sometime before 22 Jan, the bus staff laid out all the place settings -- and never came back.
As I was taking these photos on 12 Aug, two different cars pulled into the lot looking to eat, and both parties took their own pictures and shared stories of eating there as kids as well.
UPDATE 16 June 2011: Added whole 12 August 2010 photoset link.
UPDATE 18 July 2011: here is an article remembering Oliver's Lodge from the Georgetown Times.
UPDATE 31 January 2012 -- Take a look at these interior pictures by Beverly Bledsoe on the Ugly Hedgehog photography forum. Very nice!
UPDATE 11 July 2012 -- As mentioned by commenter Paul, someone has taken the property in hand and has partially boarded it up and posted it. Still no "For Sale" sign though. Pictures from 4 July 2012:
73 Responses to 'Oliver's Lodge, 4204 Highway 17 Business Murrells Inlet: Winter 2009'
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30 Aug 10 at 3:17 am
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I just wanted to say this was a great write-up with some great pictures! A few co-workers and I were just talking about enjoying childhood because once it's over, it's gone forever, and something about this post really drove the point home.
It's a little creepy to see all the tables set up and ready for a seating. I love the line, "So, sometime before 22 Jan, the bus staff laid out all the place settings — and never came back."
Matthew
30 Aug 10 at 8:52 am
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The "dress in the window" shot is just plain spooky. That and the one before it from a distance.
Jonathan
30 Aug 10 at 8:57 am
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Micky Spillane used to be a regilar at this place.
Tom
30 Aug 10 at 9:14 am
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Did some snooping around the internet and found out that the place had undergone a change in ownership and/or management for the worse. People were complaining that the food quality had declined, that they were serving frozen and not fresh foods, the prices had been jacked and the service was poor. Sounds like a formula for certain death in a tight restaurant market like the Grand Strand.
Tom
30 Aug 10 at 10:09 am
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I agree with Matthew, the write-up and photographs are mighty fine, meant to say something about that in my previous comment. When I click on the image to enlarge it, I can almost smell the marsh and years of fish grease smoke build-up from these photographs.
I can't tell you how glad I am that you caught this closing from the beach. That didn't come across in my last comment. It's one of those places I haven't been to in at least 40 years, yet I still visually think about it each and every time Murrells Inlet is mentioned, especially the vistas out into the marsh from the beach side of the lodge. I've never seen it featured anywhere in any local paper or magazine (I'm sure it has though), so I'm glad to see that you caught it with your photography before all the signage was gone. Bravo Ted!
30 Aug 10 at 9:56 pm
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My first seafood restaurant experience was, of course, Captain's Kitchen, but my first Murrell's Inlet seafood restaurant experience was Lee's Inlet Kitchen. I liked Oliver's Lodge, but it's been 25 years if it's been a day since I last ate there.
Jim
31 Aug 10 at 10:52 pm
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Nooooo! How sad. We go to Pawley's every other Labor Day week and have always eaten at least once at Oliver's Lodge. This was the off year, so we wouldn't have found out until next year, when there will probably be "upscale" condos built there. The food had gone downhill a bit lately, but still, I will miss the place.
Cary
3 Sep 10 at 9:12 pm
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Please...some old timer re-open this place to it's former manner....just good, fresh, plain, seafood and Southern food! We miss it!
Dixiegirl
1 May 11 at 9:41 am
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The owners of the restaurant should be ashamed, letting the oldest building in Murrells Inlet Fall Down. I Believe They Don't even Care! The Coolers And Storage buildings have collapsed, the powers turned off. There is even still spoiled food, milk, and condiments sitting in a cooler outside, with leaves, birds, and all sorts of animals living in it, EWW! There is busted out windows, doors, and even floorboards. They even leave the backdoor WIDE OPEN, LITERALLY! There is junk piled up on the porches, toilets, sinks, restaurant equipment, ect. The nastiest thing is, they have dirty dishes just still sitting in the kitchen! WOW! its overgrown, an the vines are strangling the roofs. the next thing to collapse is the main building! So if an OLIVER'S, Owner or Former Employee is reading this, I hope this we make you rethink about taking care of the place. Just because you have shutdown, dose not mean you just forget about it!
Paul
7 May 11 at 9:51 pm
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also, if the COKE Co. needs their equipment back, call and tell them just walk in the backdoor and take it
Paul
7 May 11 at 9:56 pm
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Who in their right mind would leave furniture, dishes, salt packets, sauce bottles and even a bridal gown just sitting there after a restuarant shuts down?
It seems like a gargantuan waste to leave that stuff sitting there unused...my mom has always felt it's best to not waste anything and so this is simply troubling to me why anyone would do this. It's almost as bad as two episodes when I was an avid Extreme Makeover: Home Edition viewer and a contractor started work on the house, got it torn up and ready for construction and literally disappeared.
Andrew
7 May 11 at 11:58 pm
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The last time that my family and I went there was in 1971. We waited in line for an hour. My Parents got so disgusted that we left and went to Lee's Inlet Kitchen. It was a shame since I liked their seafood platters except for the nasty scallops.
I wonder if you Pawley's aficionados remember the Cassina Inn when it had the restaurant part still going. We ate there just about everyday. It is a great part of my early Pawleys memories. The cook would ring the dinner chime, actually a triangular shaped thing, and the neighbors would come from blocks around. This story wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Rice Cottage and Mr. Gabby keeping an eye on everything going on.
joelc
9 May 11 at 6:25 pm
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Maybe the spider in that one picture ate everyone....
Gary McCammon
9 May 11 at 9:27 pm
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Hi Joel C
I am Apart of the Lees Family, Im Glad You Made The Choice Of Going To Lees Instead Of Olivers
Paul
14 May 11 at 10:03 pm
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The Owners Are apparently Bankrupt, but if they want to make money, they should sell equipment or even the building to someone who will actually take care of it. The Business Has Been Sold Three Times, Whoever Got It Last, the wife and husband got divorced, and the wife got the restaurant, and shut down. everyone who has had this company, has not know what they are doing, except the original family. at The First, Blessing of the Inlet, They ran out of food in just one hour, and the restaurant is literally next door! Both of My Grandads, Grandpa, and Step, Were the managers of this place, they said every one who has had it, tries to make it fancier, and they always fail. It Smells Terrible inside, and their is shoes on the floor in the kitchen FREAKY! Plus the wedding gown Upstairs! I Mean, Is It really that hard to clean off the vines growing up the building, and some simple ten dollar repairs? if you want to find out more, just go to the restaurant and go and walk inside, IF YOU DARE, Their is a ghost, REALLY! no one care if you go inside though!
Joe
14 May 11 at 10:14 pm
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Look At The Right Bottom Corner Of The Bar On The Floor, Their is old Shoes, Weird Right? Trust me, I Went In And Looked at them in person, An the owner was obviously rude to their employees, their is signs on the coolers and in the building for the staff that says stuff like " SHUT THE DOOR OR FUC*ING DIE!" ISNT THAT MEAN!
Joe
14 May 11 at 10:24 pm
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Paul
It's been 40 years or so since I've been to Lee's, but I'll make it a point to go there again this year if I make it down to the Grand Strand!joelc
14 May 11 at 11:00 pm
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Plus I loved the hush puppies!
joelc
14 May 11 at 11:01 pm
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@joelc
Thank You! =)
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I first ate at Oliver's in 1962. I was 11 yeras old and my family was staying in Surfside Beach. Daddy and I had gone out to the Gulf Stream on Capt. Bill or Capt Dick's boat. Daddy wanted to eat at Oliver's and we waited in a line that ran around the house. When we finally got on the back porch going inside...the porch was screened in..no windows or AC etc. It was the best seafood I have ever eaten in my life. The boats supplyied them daily and the seafood was swimming a few hours earlier before you ate. We went for several years after that. I was wanting to go again and when I googled it and see it is closed. I think Captn Bill is not there anymore either...Maybe Drucken Jack's or something is there....Oh well maybe I will sur fish tomorrow and catch my own dinner))) Luv Murrells Inlet)
Chief
29 Sep 11 at 7:37 pm
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I didn't go until probably 4 or 5 years later, but that's how I remember it. Incredible lines and a screen porch (later adding AC with plastic sheeting).
ted
29 Sep 11 at 10:02 pm
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what realty company has this property now?
would you give me a contact number?billy
20 Nov 11 at 11:30 pm
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There is not a for-sale sign on the property as far as I can tell.
ted
20 Nov 11 at 11:47 pm
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The Bank Has It And WILL NOT Sell it because there is a lot of money that is owed to all the vendors, and its just not legal to sell it until everything is straightened out. Sorry! But if It every does come up for sell, I will post it! My Friends And I go Over there And Walk around inside, its kinda spooky, but the door is unlocked all the time.
Paul
12 Dec 11 at 9:07 pm
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Went there for my first time in or about 1971, last time around 2009, went back in 2012, how sad........
Mike Gore
29 Apr 12 at 8:24 pm
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just Recently Went in and checked the place out. This Building will have to be torn down if sold to anyone. Fleas crawled all over my legs and you can see where rats have eaten all the salt and sugar packets. The owners obviously got what ever they could out of the place, because all the signage on the building, and copper light fixtures are gone. They must have HAULED ASS, before the bank got it. Its a shame to see it like this, would have loved to see it restored, but no way it could be now. I completely agree with Paul & Joe. Shame, Shame, Shame, on you owners. What an Eyesore.
John
7 May 12 at 6:18 pm
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It was certainly looking pretty decrepit last time I drove that way. Really sorry to hear it is in even worse shape than I thought.
ted
7 May 12 at 8:57 pm
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Ted, What was wrote on the paper stuck in the door in the first visit?
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Paul,
For some reason I didn't read it. I suppose that at that point I thought there was a chance the place might still be viable, and since it appeared to be a note "to" rather than a note "from", it felt like I would be reading someone's mail.
Wish I had though. It might have had a date on it or thrown some more light on things.
ted
18 May 12 at 4:15 pm
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The bank must have Officially taken control of the building, they changed the locks, boarded up all doors and windows, and posted NO TRESPASSING signs everywhere, it looks horrible
Paul
17 Jun 12 at 11:39 am
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Well, I guess it was only a matter of time until someone got hurt inside or set it on fire. Maybe if it's officially taken over, they can at least get it on the market.
ted
19 Jun 12 at 12:19 am
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Best hushpuppies ever! The 60's in Myrtle Beach would not be the same without memories of Oliver's Lodge. Makes me feel my age thinking about this bygone era.
s ellington
12 Jul 12 at 10:31 am
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My sisters and I have many fond memories of Oliver's. We were teenagers in the 60's when we frequently dined there on our annual vacation to Myrtle Beach. Things were way different in those days. I loved the fried chicken and hush puppies. The view across the marsh and the live oaks were wonderful. The last time I was there in the 90's it was not the same. We will be visiting Murrell's Inlet next week and I will take a look and mourn the loss. We will eat at Lee's - at least that is still there and owned by the same family. I will never forget Oliver's. Thanks to all who contributed those wonderful photos.
J. Somers
22 Jul 12 at 9:19 am
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recently looked at the online court cases for forclosed properties, and Olivers was one of them. No one is representing Olivers, so looks to me like the bank has taken it into their hands already, and it will most likely be for sale by the end of this year or early next year if the legal issues have been straightened out! So hopefully someone will by it and restore it! It will take alot of work though. We can only hope for the best.
Paul
26 Jul 12 at 7:20 pm
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*Buy
Paul
26 Jul 12 at 7:21 pm
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The original owners are turning in thier graves to see the shambles this beautiful property is in. Maxine Hawkins was born upstairs in this house as it was her family home place. I recall that it was painted red?? does anyone else remember that? I dont know what Maxines maiden name was, but she was a local. She was often at the restaurant until 3am to close up. THey were nice people. I think they had one or two sons, and not sure if the restaurant went to them when Ed & Maxine went to Heaven...but I know the son had had "problems" with consumption. Ed, Maxines husband had a horse stable on the other side of Hwy 17 and I would go there in the summers, help and show some of horses, and stay at their house, which had a boat dock. Maxine would be asleep most of the day, head to the restaurant around 3 or 4 every afternoon, and we would see her home at 3am. Ed and I would spend the day with the horses and other horse crazy gals like myself, then in the afternoon we would go for a boat ride, go to visit their friend Mickey Spillance, quite a character, a nice guy who was nothing like the books I later "tried" to read. He always had the coldest coke bottles for us and the "adults got cold beer in his front yard with the makeshift tiki hut. I believe Maxine was his best friend and excutrix of his will. But I'm getting older myself. My times there were in late 70's...and he had some really nice show horses. I think I researched some time ago, and saw that they had died long ago...but When Maxine was there, so were the crowds and her wonderful hushpuppies and she crab soup...that I would freeze, and take back on plane to Atlanta. I'm going to see if I can find my old cookbook from there. Maxine was an accomplished watercolor artist and did some interesting things with sand/surf and water colors. May they rest in peace , as there are no guarantees that who that loved, would be taken care of for future generations. The restaurant business is a tough business, and clearly the kids didn't have the passion for the restaurant or the horses...all gone now...but the wonderful memories. Maybe if the economy gets better after November, entrepenuers can salvage the memories and open up a fine rustic new restaurant. oh, I think the wedding dress in the window was Maxines or her mothers, not spooky to me at all.
Dottie R
16 Aug 12 at 2:25 pm
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Those above who were interested in if it is for sale or not, I do not think a Real Estate company has it, but it should be auctioned off at The Georgetown County court house. here is a link for the foreclosures of June 2012
http://www.georgetowncountysc.org/docs/foreclosure5-30-2012.pdf
Also here is a link to the instructions for when and where auctions are held along with directions
http://www.georgetowncountysc.org/mastersequity/instructions.html
Hopefully we can find someone who will buy it! Pass it along
Paul
28 Aug 12 at 7:47 pm
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Oliver's Lodge was closed sometime around 2008 - 2009 and was foreclosed on. After being non-operational for more than 180 days, zoning automatically was changed from commercial to residential and can no longer be operated as a restaurant. On September 21, 2012 the property was sold by the bank as residential property
DD
22 Sep 12 at 5:08 pm
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Thanks for the info. It'll be interesting to see what happens although I'm afraid anyone wanting to live there will almost have to knock the old place down.
ted
22 Sep 12 at 11:02 pm
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Someone came in and did some serious cleaning up, it looks like it is going to reopen. they have people coming it and looking up power and cable and such. can't wait to see what happens!
Paul
24 Sep 12 at 2:47 pm
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What a shame that Oliver's is no longer in business. I have many good memories of eating there as a child when my family would go on our yearly vacation to Myrtle Beach. I noticed that a lot of people here mentioned the hush puppies -- yes, they *were* hush puppies, but I remember them being called "corn dodgers" on the menu. Every year when our vacation was over, before we would get on the road to go back to Greenville (SC), we would stop at Oliver's and pick up a sack of corn dodgers to eat on the road trip home. I also remember that I used to order the baked flounder platter there -- fish, cole slaw and french fries. It was soooo good, and the large size platter was $2.95 (yes, I am dating myself....haha). I have many good memories of Oliver's, sad to see that the building itself has fallen into such a state of disrepair. :-(
Caro
4 Oct 12 at 9:59 am
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Tonight I fried some talapia (something the 1960s Oliver's would never dream of serving) coated in egg and corn meal, for dinner . As I was cleaning up, I suppose the meal of the fried fish that is still lingering in the air caused my memories to connect to our family's annual summer week long vacation trips to Myrtle Beach. The quintessential seafood meal was always at Oliver's. In fact, I had never tasted another type seafood other than fried flounder because Oliver's fried flounder, french fries, cole slaw and those wonderful hush puppies was the benchmark for the ultimate beach meal. I also remember waiting in line for over and hour, bouncing on the juggling board on the porch and sitting on the screened porch that overlooked the water. The giant oak trees and church next door were such a classic setting for what was one of my fondest and most distinct memories of going to the beach with my family in the summer.
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Tonight I fried some talapia (something the 1960s Oliver's would never dream of serving) coated in egg and corn meal, for dinner . As I was cleaning up, I suppose the meal of the fried fish that is still lingering in the air caused my memories to connect to our family's annual summer week long vacation trips to Myrtle Beach. The quintessential seafood meal was always at Oliver's. In fact, I had never tasted another type seafood other than fried flounder because Oliver's fried flounder, french fries, cole slaw and those wonderful hush puppies was the benchmark for the ultimate beach meal. I also remember waiting in line for over and hour, bouncing on the juggling board on the porch and sitting on the screened porch that overlooked the water. The giant oak trees and church next door were such a classic setting for what was one of my fondest and most distinct memories of going to the beach with my family in the summer. Thank you to the author and photographer for this piece that mirrored my own experiences and memories of Oliver's Lodge. I still feel as if I haven't been to the beach if I haven't had a similar meal.
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What a shame Oliver's Lodge was my favorite restaurant when we were on vacay growing up in the 80's and 90's. so many great memories! I remember running around and playing with by brother and cousins in the back lot waiting to be seated or after we ate while the grown ups talked. I hope someone is able to come in and restore Oliver's Lodge to it's former glory
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My family had a house on the point at Garden City and when we would go down during weekends and in the summer we always went to Oliver's Lodge. I loved their hushpuppies. My high school boyfriend was a busboy there during college. (I was a waitress at the Clipper Ship..also gone..during college). When my father died and we sold the Garden City house I took my husband and son to Olivers in the hopes of recapturing some lost memories. It was 10 years ago and it felt so different even then. This makes me so sad that it is no longer there because it was such a part of my youth.
Wyche
9 Mar 13 at 6:06 pm
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My family ate at Oliver's Lodge when we visited the area back in the 60's. I am staying at Surfside Beach for a couple of days and we ventured down toward Murrell's Inlet this morning. There is a sign on the door now that says "Private Residence." There was a vehicle parked by the building, and it looked like some improvements had been made since those most recent photos were posted here. The place could still use paint and sprucing up, but the vines were mostly gone and the parking lot was pretty clear. Interestingly, the wedding dress still hangs in the window upstairs, and the sign across the street still says Open at 4:30 pm.
William
23 May 13 at 2:58 pm
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We used to go to Myrtle Beach every summer when I was a kid in the 60s and early 70s. I remember the restaurant being called "Captain Oliver's" and we went every year. The wait to get in was hard/seemed like a 2 hour wait. The food and atmosphere was spectacular and my sister and I still swear that the hushpuppies there were the best we ever had. I'm going back to Myrtle this year for the 1st time in years and am very excited about it. Thanks for all the pics and comment! David...
David Gentry Jr.
27 May 13 at 7:55 am
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My husband and I went by Oliver's Lodge a couple weeks ago! Parked in the church parking lot just to enjoy being quiet and check on the place. Someone was having a birthday party there...seems it's a residence again! Yea!!!! Whoever has "saved it".....thanks! Just glad to see someone enjoying that great old place again. They even left the old wedding gown in the upstairs window!
(David Gentry...from Tyco?)Dixiegirl
1 Jun 13 at 12:31 am
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I loved this place as a kid. On my 8th birthday my Uncle Homer and Aunt Francis took a bunch of us there and I still think I have the menu somewhere. This is where I graduated from peanut butter and jelly to seafood platters. The date was August 11, 1963 and the big bouncing board was where the kids sat waiting to eat. I think the seafood platter cost around $3.50. I did go back in the late 90s but the posted menu did not look very appetizing so my wife and I went elsewhere.
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I is now 2014 and some of you will be happy to hear that Olivers Lodge has been rescued. A local history buff and restaurantier bought it and has renovated it, not as a restaurant, but as a party venue. It will host parties and weddings, etc. It is being handled through "Inlet Affairs" caterers.
Ron Mason
3 Mar 14 at 1:53 pm
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Well, good!
ted
3 Mar 14 at 8:30 pm
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I grew up in Burlington, NC, and each summer we would go to Myrtle Beach for vacation. In the late 60's or early 70's we went to the beach and stayed at the same hotel as our neighbors from home. Jim was a trucker driver and knew all the great eating places. This particular summer we went to Oliver's to eat. I remember it being on the water the huge trees and of course the moss growing on them. We would go early to eat but would have to wait. The seafood was great. I remember going back for years to come. As myrtle beach got more commercialized we ate more in town. I have thought about this place a lot as now both of my parents and neighbors have passed away. My oldest daughter and I are going to Myrtle Beach this weekend and I wanted to take her if it was still open. There is so much that has changed in the area, just wanted to step back a little in time to think about my parents. The last time we took my mom and dad to the beach and he had Alzheimer's so we mainly cooked in the Condo since he did better out of crowds. Thanks for posting the pictures and the walk down memory Lane.
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I was taken to Oliver's Lodge on many occasions as a child in the 70's and into the 80's while my parents were still married. I earliest memories of the place are the vines and spanish moss hanging from the trees back them. I had my first taste of Deviled Crab here but mostly got to eat shrimp or clams. My parents used to tell stories of their honeymoon trip and how when they ate there in the mid 60's the bus staff were so skilled they would clean the tables after yanking the tablecloths from the tables without causing the dishes to go tunbling to the floor. That practice of course had stopped by my era. In the late 80's and early 90's I would periodicly drive past or stop to eat when I was at the beach. The last time I was there prior to the Oliver Family selling the restaurant I had gotten sick most likely from heatstroke and an oncomming illness that waylaid me for a couple days while we were at the beach for our annual 2 week vacation. The staff was so attentive and did everything they could to make me feel better getting my mother milk, water and coke for me what ever I thought might calm my stomach. I remember I eventually only had a grilled cheese and french fries that they made special for me to eat that time. Ironicly in the true "Old South" hospitality of the Family they even tried to get my parents to let them give the entire family a free meal for the night and another meal on the house once I was fealing better. I eas able to get a menu from the restaurant after the family had sold the property. It was an old Family era menu but it was from just prior to them selling the restaurant. You could see the typed on stickers that had been cut and placed over the original prices and the food was no where near the familys quality of standards. I remember ordering Crablegs and being served 6 Rock Lobster Claws. And they kept trying to tell me that it was crab legs that they were serving me. After that I meant to return and take my mother back as a treat when going to the beach for a vacation but kept finding theat the place was always closed when we would go past and the phone was never answered when you would try and call to place reservations. From what I understood. After the fathers death and the mother fell on ill health a lot of the children nolonger were interested in seafood fishing or running a restaurant. The family boating excersions for fresh seafood stopped after the father died when the boys that used to deepseafish with him decided they could make more money taking vacationers out to fish off the coast as charter boat captains. The girls and their boyfriends or husbands that were interested stayed on to help the mother run the restaurant untill the costs of her medical needs and the time dedicated to her care were such that the family was forced to sell the restaurant and she went into a care facility. At that time their were still charter boat trips leaving from the docks behind the restaurant but they were nolonger owned by the family and hadn't been for several years I understand. I only wish I had known that the place had fallen on such bad times and that I could have tried to have stepped in and salvaged it. Frozen food is not going to fly off the counters in an area so rich with fresh seafood so abundantly available. It is a true shame that the new owners however many there were let the standards and quality fall so dramaticly that the place ended up loosing it's commercial srv license.
Richard
21 Mar 14 at 12:28 am
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Go take a look Ted, the renovations look great!
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30 Mar 14 at 10:00 pm
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I definitely will. I almost did last weekend, but didn't quite make it.
ted
31 Mar 14 at 12:11 am
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Joel C, I too, stayed at Cassina Inn a couple of weeks every summer in the 60's with lots of cousins and extended family. I had forgotten about the bell they rang for meals! Years later (can't recall the year but I believe before Hugo hit the island ) we were staying in villas and were on the beach when we saw smoke. It was the Cassina Inn burning down. I believe it was vacant. Do you have any knowledge about that? So many good childhood memories from there. There was a little store nearby where we would grab comic books and soda and a place with trampolines.
mary
28 Oct 14 at 11:29 am
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Mary, the place caught fire in 1986. It was still used by the Prioleau family for vacations. An errant cigarette caught it on fire, apparently from a careless if not drunk worker who was sleeping in a guest room. Mary and her children were lucky to escape the fire. The building was gutted but the shell remained standing until Hugo. I never understood why it wasn't rebuilt or torn down soon after the loss. I have some pretty good pictures of the fire. The King family owned the little red store on the corner and the arcade. The trampolines and putt putt course were removed in 1970 when the new arcade was built behind the dune line. I loved the old arcade but the new one had a hamburger diner and of course pinball machines. There was a little store a short ways away from the arcade that sold pop and comic books. It was destroyed by Hugo.
joelc
28 Oct 14 at 10:37 pm
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The trampoline/arcade was "King's Funland". What a classic much missed place. I hope I have some photos somewhere, but I wouldn't bet on it unfortunately. The store mentioned was the last retail establishment on the Island.
ted
28 Oct 14 at 11:12 pm
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We talked about Kings in the Bounty section of this site. There was a FaceBook page about it too but I can't seem to find it now. Another great memory was the pier tackle shop and restaurant. There was also a little gift shop to the left before descending the ramp to the parking lot. I remember watching the Apollo 11 liftoff at the tacke shop. You could receive a few of the Charleston stations on VHF. We bemoaned the construction of the condos and feared hotels being built. Zoning was put into place to prevent this from happening.
Joelc
29 Oct 14 at 1:27 am
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I are there for the first time when I was about 8 or9 years old. I returned in 1987 with my wife. We ate supper that night and I told the lady at the register that the food was still as good as it was 35 years ago. She t old me that they had the same cook that was there 35 years ago. I agree about the hush puppies. My wife and I ate at The Captains Table in Myrtle Beach, and I could swear that their hush puppies recipe came from Olivers Lodge. Thank you all for all the fantastic memories. I will soon be 75 years old.
Joe doe
18 Apr 16 at 8:23 pm
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Was there first week in May 1967 on my honeymoon. Now sitting here alone , all great moments are a distant memory. I really do miss my youth.
Wayne Berry
27 Aug 16 at 5:50 pm
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@ Wayne, I was only ten tears old in 1967 and I feel your pain. I miss my youth as well.
Rick
27 Aug 16 at 7:25 pm
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rooster died this year. he worked at olivers as a boy up until it closed. he lived there for a long time. its a damn shame what happened to this restaurant.
andrew c
31 Jul 17 at 3:15 pm
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I'm a former employee of Oliver's Lodge. I worked there from about 1986 (I was 18 years old) up til about 1991 or 92. I turned 51 this year (2018) and have fond memories of working there. Maxine Oliver was still the owner and I knew her very well. She sold the property sometime in the 90's. It changed hands several times before eventually closing it's doors for good. The lodge is now a private residence. Maxine
David E.
8 Jul 18 at 3:47 pm
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Loved this restaurant and no other compares even in 2018. I used to have the hush puppy recipe, would anyone else have it? Thanks!
Sonna P.
27 Aug 18 at 5:41 pm
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I can't remember when we ate there. We were on a golfing vacation, and I was looking for a place to eat. As I remember, the picture in the phone book looked interesting. I remember it was very "rustic" if that was the word for it. We ate on the porch at the time and I remember the light bulbs hanging from the top of the porch, I still have the small brochure showing the outside and the menu. It was a great place to eat.
Barbara Skirrow
23 Mar 20 at 2:43 pm
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I remember going to Oliver's in the late 60s and early 70s with my dad, mom, and sister. I was a lad and hated waiting for so long but the food was unforgettable as I'm posting this today, some 50 years later. The experience is unforgettable as well. I remember a large, old house, lots of dark wood grain, creaking floorboards, warm saltwater breeze from the ocean, and amazing hush puppies, not to mention the seafood. Sad it's gone as are so many other businesses from the "pre-commercialized" Myrtle Beach era like Lake Arrowhead Campground. They will always gleam brightly in my memory.
Steve M.
20 Nov 20 at 10:06 pm
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My family went there every year as a kid growing up. Generations of Brady’s, literally, it was a staple as much as staying at the Swamp Fox was a part of our Myrtle Beach trip. It was a travesty watching the place go down hill. If anyone has the hush puppy recipe from there PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! Those were worth the wait and the trip alone lol. Sigh, such fond memories…
Laura Turner
8 Aug 21 at 10:58 am
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I remember Maxine and Ed Hawkins. I was passing through Murrells Inlet in 1979(?) and stopped to a friend there who was living at their house. I stayed for few days. They were so kind, very welcoming. We went out in the little skiff to pull crab traps, and saw Mickey Spillane at his place on his dock! He raised a toast, and shouted something quirky. I've since lost touch with that old friend I visited at the Hawkins' house... his name was Ray Cooper, a very kind and gentle fellow. He'd be in his mid 60's now. Does anyone know Ray? He was very close to Maxine and Ed.
Ellen B
20 Feb 22 at 11:04 am
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I first had Shrimp and Grits that Capt. Mac made for my breakfast. I'm guessing the it was 1955-56, but cannot be sure. We had seined the shrimp with him that morning - great memory for me.
My friend from Batesburg stayed with her grandmother a few doors down and my family visited often.
I returned five or so years ago and "progress" had changed it all...David Watson
15 Jul 22 at 11:33 am
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I remember taking the trek to Oliver's Lodge many times as a child. I recall the family gathered on one of the wood tables on the screened porch. We always looked forward to going there to eat. I still have an Oliver's Lodge cook book.
Nancy
26 Jul 22 at 1:12 pm
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In the late 1960’s while waiting for a table, I ran into an older guy sitting near the water at an old cable roller (now a table). He had a 6-pack of Fallstaff…asked me to join him for a beer(I was 17 at the time) - I joined him and discovered that he was the mystery writer - Mickey Spillane!
I’ll never forget that evening (and that rather warm beer)!Tom
30 Sep 22 at 6:49 pm
The main thing I remember about this place is standing in line for what seemed like hours, especially when you were 9 years old and starving from smelling all the fried fish cooking. I do remember that one of my friends went down with the family one summer and he ordered the frog legs. I briefly toyed with getting them as well, but I didn't want to waste my meal (and all that time waiting in line) with something too exotic and potentially too yucky to fully enjoy. I did taste his just to see what they were like , and they do taste just like chicken, maybe a bit more "rubbery." That one meal will always be my predominate memory of this place, and we ate here many times in the '60s.
Now, this is the weird part: I don't remember it being called Oliver's Lodge. It could be that my father had his own name for it and that's what we called it. If this is not the place where we ate, it has an exact double somewhere else in Murrells Inlet.