The Surfside Pier Heads Into Its First Winter With Every Counter Open

"Once the restaurant is open, all the businesses on the pier will be in operation." Mayor Robert Krouse said that to WMBF in February 2026, when the Surf Diner was still hiring and training staff and had no announced opening day.

By September, he could say it had happened. His September 4 weekly update thanked four pier tenants by name: Perry's Bait & Tackle, Drippy's Ice Cream, the Whistling Duck and the Surf Diner. That makes this fall the first off-season since 2016 with a full lineup on the Surfside Beach Pier. A breakfast, a lunch, a fishing pass, a glass of wine and an evening walk can all happen on the same 800 feet of concrete. The pier's winter rules take effect on November 1.

Ten years from the old diner to the new one

Hurricane Matthew destroyed the old pier in 2016. The Surf Diner had been a local favorite on that pier, and it went down with the structure. The all-concrete rebuild reopened in 2024 and reaches roughly 800 feet into the ocean. Its restaurants needed another two years to fill in.

The tenants arrived one at a time. The Whistling Duck, a wine and charcuterie restaurant, opened in November 2025, according to WBTW. The Surf Diner took longer. In February 2026 the mayor told WMBF that the diner had its certificate of occupancy and was "weeks away." The exact reopening date never made the news. By the end of August, WMBF's Grand Strand Today was touring the pier and eating at both the Whistling Duck and the Surf Diner.

Last winter the pier had a bait shop, an ice cream counter and a wine bar that was only weeks old. This winter it has breakfast too, and that changes what the pier can do on a cold Tuesday in January.

What an off-season day on the pier looks like now

The Surf Diner, at 11 S. Ocean Boulevard, posted its fall hours in October. It serves breakfast every day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and stays open until 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with dinner starting at 4 p.m. The Whistling Duck lists 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Together they cover almost every waking hour the pier is open.

The diner's posts also map out a weekly routine. Thursday is prime rib after 4 p.m., Friday is an all-you-can-eat fish fry after 4 p.m., and both last only while supplies do. For the season, the diner added a Pumpkin Spice Belgian Waffle with cinnamon and powdered sugar and a pumpkin spice latte to go with it.

Two schedules are still unconfirmed. Drippy's website lists its Surfside Pier location but doesn't post off-season hours, so call ahead before planning an ice cream stop in November. Perry's Bait & Tackle sells fishing passes, sells bait and rents rods for about $25 a day per rod. The fall hours on Perry's website don't say whether they apply to the pier shop.

November 1 is the date that resets the clock

The pier's own hours follow a two-season calendar. A June 2026 guide from Visit Surfside Beach gives the pier's general hours as 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. from April 1 through October 31, and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. from November 1 through March 31. That means three weeks of long hours remain. After that, the pier opens an hour later and closes two hours earlier.

The later opening happens to line up with the diner. On winter hours, the pier and the Surf Diner both open at 7 a.m., so the first walk of the day and the first cup of coffee start at the same time.

The rest of the access rules stay the same through the change:

• Walking the pier is free.
• A gentle ramp and an elevator reach the deck.
• Pier parking runs about $4 an hour between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The parking window gives early risers a gap. A 7 a.m. walk on winter hours starts an hour before metered parking begins.

A line in the water costs more this year

The Town of Surfside Beach's comprehensive fee schedule took effect July 1, 2026, and it raised pier fishing fees. An older tourism listing for the pier still shows the previous rates. Its other details are out of date as well, so treat its numbers as last season's.

The king fishing annual pass rose the most, from $200 to $300. For the standard pass at $200, it pays for itself on the fifteenth day of fishing, compared with the 13th day at the old $150 and $12 rates. If you fish twice a week through the cooler months, the annual pass still works out cheaper than paying by the day. Card payments add a 3% processing fee under the same schedule.

As for what's in the water, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources' saltwater guidance for the South Grand Strand lists bull red drum, weakfish, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel in the surf in October. That is a regional seasonal outlook, not a catch report from this pier. Visit Surfside Beach describes the pier's catch more broadly as spot and whiting up to Spanish mackerel and the occasional king, depending on the season. The king fishing tier exists because those bigger fish come through.

The counters that are approved but not open

The tenant list could still grow. In April 2026, Town Council approved four food and drink kiosks for the pier: Sip It, Surf Dawgs, Loaded Lobster and Riccardi's Italian Ice. WMBF reported that leases and kiosk locations were still pending, so it was unclear when any of them would start serving. We found no confirmation that any of the four has opened.

The issue is on the agenda again. The mayor's October 9 update lists a kiosk application for Council's first October meeting, which follows a three-week break. Mayor Pro Tempore Walls will preside. The update doesn't name the applicant. The same agenda includes first reading of revisions to open container rules for town events. That could matter for future gatherings in the pier parking lot, which hosted the second annual End of Summer Fireworks Festival over Labor Day weekend.

The four main tenants make this winter the first full one. A kiosk approval would make next spring busier than this one.

Two blocks off the pier, the week has a shape

The pier's off-season schedule overlaps with the town's two weekday markets at Memorial Park, and the combination gives a weekday a plan.

The Surfside Beach Farmers Market runs Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, and the remaining dates are October 13, 20 and 27 and November 3, 10, 17 and 24. My Olive Shack's Arts & Crafts Market runs Thursdays at the same park and the same hours, through November 12. Local artists and crafters sell there, and the market collects nonperishable food for South Strand Helping Hand. Thursdays left this season are October 15, 22 and 29 and November 5 and 12.

That makes Thursday the fullest day on the calendar until mid-November: the arts market in the morning, a walk on the pier, then the Surf Diner's prime rib after 4 p.m. On Tuesday, the farmers market closes at 3 p.m. and the diner closes at 2 p.m., so lunch on the pier has to come first.

The fall festival season is over. The town's Fall Family Festival on October 3 drew a crowd until rain shut it down after 2 p.m., the mayor wrote. The farmers market's last Tuesday this season is November 24, and starting November 1 the pier opens at 7 a.m., the same time the Surf Diner starts serving breakfast.

I'm Michelle Schneider, and the pier is part of my week too. If you want a second opinion on which Surfside streets make a morning walk to the pier easy, or you're weighing a home where the Thursday fish fry could become a habit, Michelle Schneider is glad to talk it through over coffee at the Surf Diner. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.