Like the cycles of the sun, the moon and the annual tourist season, the neon peach keeps spinning—literally.

The iconic Ocean Boulevard diner Peaches Corner is all about maintaining the nostalgic essence of Myrtle Beach, and its symbolic giant revolving fruit lends a new dimension to an old favorite. For many, Peaches Corner represents the sights, the smells, the very essence of a summer day on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk. With its recent renovations and upcoming 75th anniversary celebration, the home of the footlong hot dog and “the coldest draft beer in Myrtle Beach” strikes a balance between forward vision and homage to history.

Back in 1937, when Eunice and Johnny Burroughs purchased the restaurant from the Peaches family, a yearlong tourist season—not to mention SkyWheels, ziplines and the demise of the Pavilion—would have been unthinkable. “They had three months to run their business and make their annual income. That’s it,” says Peaches Corner operator Briggs Dickerson. “They didn’t close in the summer months; they were open 24 hours a day.” Family lore holds that after Labor Day, “You could lie down in the middle of Ocean Boulevard and not have to worry about being hit by a car. There weren’t any—that’s how dead it was,” relates Dickerson.

Eunice and Johnny kept a crazy schedule as they ran the place and raised their children—Pam Burroughs Crutchfield and Steve Sorrens. Packed with tourists from morning to night, with its glass doors thrown open to catch the ocean breeze, Peaches Corner was the place to be for good eats, people watching and a full blast of summer. Crutchfield, current owner of the business, recalls the routine of summer days: “Dad ran the day shift so he could do the books and the restaurant, and mom ran the night shift. Every day she left at 6 p.m. to go to work; she would work until 2-3 in the morning, then get up and take me to the beach. Back then, the seasons were such that you had to work seven days a week because you only had 90 days to make it in.”

Eunice, a.k.a. “Mimi,” and Johnny’s formula of hard work, quality food and family presence steered the business through decades of success. “To this day, you hear stories of those years from customers that return annually,” Dickerson says.  “Families would come down here, and they’d let kids play at the Pavilion while Mom and Dad had a hot dog and a beer, enjoying the sights and relaxing—they’d say, ‘Let’s meet at 9 at the Magic Attic.’  We’re a part of people’s traditions.”

When the time came to pass the torch in 1987, Mimi sat down with her granddaughter Blair’s husband, Briggs, to propose that he and Blair become the new operators. “[Eunice] trusted him completely,” says Crutchfield. “She gave him complete control—never asked to see a book, never looked over his shoulder.” He accepted the offer, and Peaches Corner’s future was secure in the hands of a new family member.

Renovations over the past two years represent an important link between the past and the future. For the diner’s signage, lighting and décor, both inside and out, Dickerson sought to “stick with the old nostalgic look, because it’s such a landmark,” he says. “I really put time into thinking and planning how to do it and keep the old Myrtle Beach feel.  We lost the Pavilion, Sun Fun—so many key elements of Myrtle Beach past. We want people to be able to come in and feel like it’s familiar, the same old place.”

A key centerpiece within the restaurant’s interior is a tribute to Eunice “Mimi” Burroughs Singleton. Family photos and shots that trace the diner’s history are encased along the laminated countertop that spans the length of the place. It’s all there: crowds at the Pavilion, along the Boulevard, and on the beach; Miss Bikini Wahine pageants from the 1960s; Sun Fun Festival tug-of-war games from the 1970s; the Ocean Forest Hotel (both the building and its destruction); the National Guard arriving after Hurricane Hazel in 1954; the Rivoli Theater, which hosted Elvis Presley on opening night in 1958; the Bar Harbor Hotel, damaged in a 2001 twister; trapeze artists on the beach; the Pavilion’s antique organ; a shag competition; and the front page of a 1958 issue of the Myrtle Beach Sun newspaper. And in the middle of it all, there’s family: a professional head shot of Eunice from the 1950s, photos of Eunice and Johnny together, Pam as a toddler, and Eunice with Randy Owens, whose band Alabama had its start at the nearby Bowery.  

It was the exterior renovations, though, that caught the attention of loyal Peaches followers—most importantly, the long-familiar signage. “It tweaked some nerves,” admits Dickerson. “We heard about it on Facebook—people wishing we would leave it alone.” But as he pored over old images of the place and researched old Pepsi, Budweiser and Blue Bunny ice cream signs, he began to develop a vision for the look that would maintain tradition while giving the building a facelift.  

Dickerson has continued and expanded the legacy of family, hard work and quality food during his time at Peaches Corner, and customers flock to the place with the same enthusiasm their parents and grandparents had. “For many people, when they come to Myrtle Beach, we’re the first place they come and the last place they leave,” Dickerson reports.  

Plans for the 75th anniversary celebration also reflect a nod to yesteryear, as the restaurant will roll back prices to circa 1937. Specials include $0.15 hot dogs and $0.25 beer from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 6, with proceeds benefitting the Horry County Special Olympics and a local Labrador retriever rescue group.

Dickerson says the Peaches Corner renovations reflect the family’s commitment to continued quality food, service and fun for Myrtle Beach locals and tourists. “We wanted to preserve the building so we’ll be here another 75 years.”