An Horry County judge has ruled a lawsuit over the restaurant space at the Surfside Beach pier will go to trial. Judge Larry Hyman denied the town's motion for a summary judgement Wednesday, which would have disposed of the case without a trial.
The town has been working through a bidding process and legal issues involving the pier for more than a year, while the restaurant has remained empty.
Last April, the town council chose John and Sonia Sifonios of New Jersey as the new operators of the restaurant, but then rescinded that decision a month later, after new information came out about the couple's credit history.
The Sifonios then sued the town in July claiming breach of contract, while town officials went about choosing a new tenant, which they did in January.
The town's attorney said Wednesday that the lawsuit moving to trial shouldn't stop the renovation work that's already underway by the new tenant.
"In my opinion, it does not affect it. That's the decision that the tenant that has leased it will make and they will prepare to open the restaurant," said attorney Kenneth Moss.
But another snag came up this week, when town building officials ordered construction work to stop, because the new tenants hadn't obtained a proper building permit.
That didn't hold things up for long, as city officials say the tenants got their permit late Wednesday.
One town councilman calls that delay a small bump in the road. He thinks the new restaurant could still open up by mid-May.
"As we all know, it's a seasonal business and they need the season, so I do feel that it will be open. They seem to be doing very good right now with the speed they're going," said councilman Bob Childs.
Childs said the town bought the pier because people in town didn't want the pier area to be developed into homes or condos.
Though there have been problems, including the loss of the restaurant's long-time tenant, Nibils Restaurant, Childs said he believes many people in town still think buying the pier was the right thing to do.
"So there's other people that didn't feel that way, but I feel there's a lot of people that did like it, the pier remaining," Childs said.
The pier was built in 1949 and was privately owned until the town bought it in 2008.
