The Golden Mile's Fall Backyard Is a 35-Acre Lot Most People Still Call the Old Mall

At the southern edge of the Golden Mile there's a block of open pavement and grass between Kings Highway and Oak Street, running from Myrtle Place up to 27th Avenue North. The Post and Courier called it "dark most of the year." This October it gets two of its biggest weekends of the year. The 10th Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival is October 16 through 18, and Myrtle Beach Jeep Jam follows October 30 through November 1. The jazz festival is also charging admission for the first time in its history. That price says a lot about what this lot has become.

The address is 2501 N. Kings Highway, and the lot covers more than 35 acres. It has no permanent venue, and nothing is under construction. It has still turned into the largest gathering space within a short drive of the Golden Mile.

Ninety Years of Things That Didn't Stay

Every use of this land has been temporary. Brothers Paul and Parrot Hardy of Mullins opened the Washington Park Race Track here in 1938. Local historian Kathryn Hedgepath told the Post and Courier that ministers in town for a convention were upset by a "parimutuel guessing" loophole that allowed gambling. Their campaign went all the way to the S.C. Supreme Court, and the track closed in 1947. Hedgepath said the grandstand held 5,200 seats, and that people claimed you could see the ocean from the top row.

Car racing replaced horses until the racing moved out to U.S. Highway 501 in 1958, and the grandstand left too. The lot stayed empty until the 1970s, when Burroughs & Chapin opened Myrtle Square Mall. The mall closed in the mid-2000s, after Coastal Grand Mall opened on the U.S. 17 Bypass. In 2024, The Sun News cited Horry County land records showing the tract is owned by Myrtle Beach Farms Company Inc., which is part of Burroughs & Chapin.

Since then the lot has hosted events a few weekends a year: the Run to the Sun Car and Truck Show, the Sun Car and Truck Show, Jeep Jam, and the Myrtle Beach Food Truck Festival. It has also served as parking and shuttle pickup for the Carolina Country Music Fest. That spring calendar is getting bigger too. The 2026 Food Truck & Music Festival ran April 10 through 12 with more than 80 vendors, according to the city, and its producer reported more than 30,000 attendees.

Why Jazz Fest Left Carver Street, and Why It Now Costs $10

The jazz festival spent its first nine years on Carver Street near Charlie's Place, the restored Black-owned music club and motel that hosted performers from the 1930s through the 1960s. Charlie's Place is still the festival's fundraising beneficiary. The festival moved to the old mall lot in 2025. Mickey James, the festival's president and CEO, explained the move in practical terms:

"This is a better venue for expansion. We've got plenty of room for the vendors and people can spread out more. We've got plenty of space for parking and it's better for security. Here we can check people's bags coming in but over there you're in a neighborhood."

James also told the Post and Courier that he got some pushback from the community over the move. He said that between insurance, talent, advertising and security, the festival costs about half a million dollars to produce, and that after nine free years it would have to start charging.

The crowd figures show why. Before the 2025 festival, the Post and Courier expected about 10,000 visitors. Visit Myrtle Beach now reports about 17,000 attended that year, and says organizers chose the larger site to grow toward 20,000 to 25,000. No other open space this close to Kings Highway can hold a crowd that size.

For 2026, general admission is $10 per day or $25 for all three days. A three-day VIP pass is $225 and includes a private area near the stage, heavy hors d'oeuvres and specialty cocktails. A limited 10th-anniversary Founding Member package costs $1,000 and admits two. Processing fees may apply.

Willie Bradley is MC for the weekend. Patrick Lamb headlines Friday at 8 p.m., followed by a late-night jam. Saturday starts with the Long Bay Symphony at 2 p.m., and Althea Rene' headlines at 7 p.m. Sunday is the most local day of the three. The Conway HS Jazz Ensemble plays at 1:30 p.m., Jeff Ryan takes the stage at 6 p.m., and CC & Company closes at 7 p.m. The festival notes that the schedule can change.

Some festival basics:

1. Bring lawn chairs. Canopies and umbrella-style chairs aren't allowed.
2. Coolers are prohibited, and bags must be clear.
3. Pets aren't allowed, with the exception of service animals.
4. Parking is on site, with the entrance on Oak Street across from the Convention Center.
5. The festival runs rain or shine and won't be rescheduled for weather.

Three Weekends Within a Mile

The lot isn't the only fall draw at this end of Kings Highway. Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium is a few blocks north on 33rd Avenue North, and it hosts the city's free Fall Fling between the two festival weekends.

The city run Fall Fling includes haunted trails, a pumpkin hunt, a costume contest, games and inflatables, and it ends with an outdoor screening of "Monster House." Parking in the stadium lot is free. Admission is free too, though you'll want money for food and treats. Two Saturdays later, the old mall lot fills with Jeeps.

Where to Eat Between Sets

Two restaurants opened this summer on the stretch of Kings Highway between the lot and the stadium. Pita Bar opened June 9 at 3001 N. Kings Highway. The Post and Courier describes it as a kosher restaurant, which is still uncommon on the Grand Strand. The shawarma pita is one of its popular items.

A few blocks north, Caribbean Jerk Cuisine opened its second location at 3401 N. Kings Highway this summer. The original is at 1303 4th Ave. in downtown Conway. Founder Kamal Fraser grew up in Jamaica cooking farm-to-table meals with his family. His jerk sauce goes into the jerk chicken pasta, jerk burgers and wings, and the menu also has beef patties, festival and coco bread. Pita Bar sits at 31st Avenue and Caribbean Jerk at 34th, so a walk between them goes right past Doug Shaw Stadium on the night of Fall Fling.

A longtime spot just south of the lot is now closed. Magnolia's at 26th Restaurant & Conference Center, at 2605 N. Ocean Blvd., was run by the Anderson family for more than 20 years. It started as a coffee shop in the basement of founder Bobby Anderson's Anderson Inn, a place locals called the "secret place." The property sold in December to 26th & Ocean LLC. Steven G. Ghidella, owner of RipTydz, is listed as that company's registered agent. The buffet closed in September, and the Sun News reported that the new owners plan to reopen it later with a different concept they haven't announced. The Anderson family is opening Magnolia's Cafe this fall at 6017 Highway 701 North in Conway. It won't have a buffet, but it will have a meat-and-three option, and Anderson's fried chicken will be on the menu every day.

What the Lot Is Still Waiting On

There are no new buildings planned for the lot. The Sun News reported in April 2025 that the site was undeveloped and that an earlier Burroughs & Chapin mixed-use plan, first reported in 2006, never came to fruition. This year's biggest proposal for the lot was another festival. Southern Entertainment first asked to use the site for a RockFest on May 7 through 9, 2027. Committee members raised concerns about nearby schools, homes, businesses and churches, along with traffic and noise. The city denied that first permit. A revised plan, discussed at a September 22 council workshop, moved the event to Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place for April 30 through May 2, 2027. As of that workshop, organizers still had to come back with a plan before they could get a permit.

For this fall, the lot hosts Jazz Fest from October 16 through 18 and Jeep Jam from October 30 through November 1. The rest of the time it's empty pavement and grass between Kings Highway and Oak Street.

If you've ever wondered what a property near one of these event weekends is like to live in on a Friday night in October, I'm happy to talk through it. Traffic, parking and how close you want to be to a festival are all fair questions, and I can give you a local's answer. Megan Parker is a quick message away. Let's Connect.