MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A Myrtle Beach business filed a lawsuit against the city and the organizers of the Carolina Country Music Festival for lost revenue and illegal road closures during the summer event.
According to the complaint filed Tuesday, Nathan’s Famous Hot dogs & Scoops Ice Cream restaurant, located at 301 8th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach, wants the city to stop blocking 8th Avenue North during the festival. The restaurant owners also want CCMF organizers to pay them more than $25,000 in cash they claim was earned at the 2016 festival but never paid.
Nathan’s operators claim the city’s closure of 8th Avenue North, cost them roughly $30,000 in business over the past three years the event has been held.
The lawsuit claims that during the festival, the city “closed off and severely or entirely restricted access to the public along the entire 8th Avenue North between Ocean Boulevard and Highway 17 Business” with a number of blockades and a 6-foot tall, chain link fence. Because Nathan’s faces the south side of 8th Ave. North, it holds an easement for access to the street, the suit claims.
Nathan’s owners claim the majority of restaurant customers access the eatery from 8th Ave. North and because the city blocks the street for the festival, Nathan’s sales and profits “drop significantly” during the festival and the day following.
The restaurant owners say the City of Myrtle Beach doesn’t have the right to shut down 8th Ave. North and use it as a parking lot to help maximize CCMF’s profits while taking away from Nathan’s revenue. Owners say CCMF is held during the restaurant’s busiest time of the year and as a direct result of the road blockage, Nathan’s loses $10,000 each year during the festival.
Nathan’s is requesting a permanent injunction to stop the city from closing 8th Ave. North. The lawsuit claims the city’s closure of the road doesn’t meet any of the requirements necessary to limit access across an easement and therefore should not be allowed in the future.
In addition to stopping the city from closing 8th Ave. North, Nathan’s lawsuit is also asking CCMF organizers for $25,171. Nathan’s claims the money is due from the 2016 festival in which attendees were made to pay with electronic wristbands, rather than credit cards or cash.
Nathan’s claims the electronic payment system “failed to operate properly,” and festival organizers did not provide any sales data, as was allegedly promised at the end of each day of the event. The lawsuit says Nathan’s only received sales data from the cashless system, which was required by CCMF, after the event was over. The numbers were “grossly short of the actual sales made at the concession space,” the suit claims.
CCMF organizers refuse to pay Nathan’s the money earned during the festival, the lawsuit claims, so the restaurant owners want the unpaid cash as well as 8.75 percent interest per year until paid.
In total, the lawsuit seeks $30,000 from the city, $25,171 plus interest from CCMF organizers, an injunction that stops 8th Ave. North from being blocked, legal fees and punitive damages.
City of Myrtle Beach spokesperson Mark Kruea says the city does not typically comment on pending litigation. In a phone conversation with News13, CCMF organizers claim all vendors were paid appropriately for past festival events but couldn’t offer any other information.
