Wednesday, November 25, 2009, Grand Strand – Two new restaurants are coming to Surfside Beach and Murrells Inlet, and one in Pawleys Island has closed for the season.

 

The closure is at 811 Steak & Pasta, which opened in December 2008 at 9674 U.S. 17. The dinner restaurant is owned by David Demer, who also owns Pastaria 811 in the Litchfield Exchange. The restaurant’s last day of operation was Sunday.

 

An upcoming new restaurant is Hogan’s Hickory House BBQ, which is at 3100 S. Kings Highway in Murrells Inlet, in the former Takara Japanese Express site. All the bamboo, booths and tables are gone, and the restaurant is bare at the moment. Soon owners Jason and Jessica Hogan will install new furnishing for their Florida- and Texas-style beef brisket, rib and chicken barbecue. Several sauces will be served, Jason said on Monday, including mustard-, tomato- and vinegar-based choices.

 

The Hogans plan to open in mid-December.

 

At 670 U.S. 17 Business in Surfside Beach, Tony Scudiero is remodeling the site of the former La Cabana Mexican Steakhouse, Ichiban Steakhouse of Japan, Yokoso Japanese Steakhouse and Sake Japanese Steakhouse. The new theme will be Italian when Sopraffino opens around the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010.

 

Scudiero moved to Murrells Inlet from the Outer Banks where he says he owned restaurants for 15 years. Since starting work on Sopraffino a couple of weeks ago, he says he has been overwhelmed by the kindness of area residents.

 

“I like the people, and I like this area,” he said on Monday. “These are just lovely people here. They are offering to give me guidance; I’ve never seen anything like this. They all say, ‘What can I do to make your life easier’?”

 

People familiar with the building will notice interior changes when Sopraffino opens. The former sushi bar/lounge has had one entrance eliminated, and at the moment it stacked high with inlaid wood tables and booths. The area where the hibachi grills were located has had all the hibachi hoods removed.

 

Scudiero says it will be a “family restaurant with classic Italian food at attractive prices.” He intends to offer locals’ discounts and an Endless Italian Dinner where for a fixed price diners can choose from a handful of entrees and eat as much of their choice as they like, plus a salad.

 

The menu will include a choice of several pasta sauces, including marinara, clam, Alfredo and aioli, and a couple of house specialties will be Broccolini and Sausage Ravioli, and Pork Osso Buco.

 

The executive chef job has been narrowed down to two candidates, and soon Scudiero will hire locals to fill other staff positions. If anyone knows of a couple of good used commercial stoves Scudiero would like to hear about them, and he is also taking bids on an exterior freestanding sign.

 

The restaurant does not yet have a phone, but Tony Scudiero can be reached at (252) 573-8226.