MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WTBW) – The deadline to renew business licenses in the City of Myrtle Beach is approaching and the city saw an increase of about 150 businesses from 2016 to 2017. The city says the steady increase in businesses is a testament to the economy and how well it’s doing. Myrtle Beach Spokesperson Mark Kruea said the city is actually doing better now than it was before the recession. “”I think it’s just a general indicator that our economy here in Myrtle Beach is doing well, that we recovered very well following the recession, and that we’re on a good pace to continue that sort of three to five percent growth for the next few years,” said Kruea. Kruea says the city is always getting new visitors, and those new visitors are bringing new business. Though the city enjoys the new businesses coming to the area, leaders would also like to see more national retail and restaurant outlets. The challenge with bringing those venues to the city is what appears to be a low population.“We’ve actively sought them to come in because we’re not a town of 30,000,” said Kruea. “They may look at the zip code or the total population number, but realistically we’re a town of 200,000, maybe even three or 400,000 some weekends out of the year.”With a good product and good customer service, Kruea is confident new businesses will do well in Myrtle Beach. The deadline to renew business licenses is May 31, but there is a grace period for the month of June.
