RBC Heritage helps some Harbour Town shop owners, others not as much. ‘It hurts us.’
Just a nine-minute walk from RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, the shop owners in Harbour Town are gearing up for what most would expect to be their busiest time of year.
With over 120,000 people expected to take in the golf tournament this week, one would think Heritage would bring added business to the shops in the area, but, Harbour Town General Store and Harbour Town Surf Shop owner Alon Mintz said, not so.
“It hurts us,” especially when it falls within the same week as Easter Sunday.
“They prevent tourists to come to this area except (on) buses and trolleys, so people cannot come in their private cars,” Mintz said. He said there are a lot of tourists who are here on Hilton Head Island who didn’t come for the golf, but they can’t get to his businesses.
Along with the surf shop and general store, Mintz owns several other Beaufort County businesses with his partner, Amir Bitton. He thinks that this year will be busier than the last two, due to COVID-19, because people “miss events” and “social life.”
For Radiance and 32 Degrees North clothing stores owner Susan Dyess, Heritage is a “crazy time.”
“I think people are just ready to get out and explore (after the pandemic),” Dyess said.
Before her shop was tucked away near the back of the shopping center and didn’t attract as many tourists, she said. Now, in addition to being near the water, she is nestled in what she calls “ice cream alley” behind the Cinnamon Bear Country Store.
“Everybody out here goes to the Cinnamon Bear to eat ice cream, so they gotta stop by,” Dyess said.
Dyess managed the stores for the previous owner for nine years before taking the plunge and buying them in 2020 before the start of the pandemic. For her, the uncertainty of being a new business owner at that time was a “panic.” Tourists who have come out to see Heritage and stopping by her store is only part of the reason why this is a highly anticipated time of year for the golfing fan, Dyess said.
“I am (excited) definitely,” Dyess said. “I love to watch golf and my whole family are golfers.”
‘Further away from the party’
Out by the water, lifelong Hilton Head islander Michael Robinson said the PGA Tour event brings more business to his paddle board and adventure tours, especially from those who couldn’t get tickets to actually be on the course.
“A lot of folks come down for the tournament to buy tickets at the door, but it’s all sold out,” Robinson said. “They’re looking for other things to do and people looking for something to do before the tournament come down. It’s the best spot on the island.”
On Easter Sunday, he has a 30-person paddle board tour and half of that tour will get to watch the tournament from the water. The other half, he said, will take a nature tour of the marsh and some open water.
Andrea Williams, assistant store manager at Camp Hilton Head, a T-shirt and souvenir shop located near the foot of the Harbour Town Lighthouse, said the store faced more difficulties getting merchandise than dips in sales during the pandemic. However, historically, Heritage week does slow down sales for the store, she said.
“I’m excited to see it, but typically we are always slow for Heritage,” Williams said. “It’s impossible to get anyone in through the shuttle system.”
“We’re so much further away from the party than everyone else,” Williams joked.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 1:19 PM.
