After a decade away from the kitchen, Chris Throckmorton is returning to the restaurant scene with Dockside Dawgs, his first brick-and-mortar eatery.
“Coming back, it’s an emotional roller coaster for sure, but we’re going to grow with the community. There’s a lot of growth in the Myrtle Beach area,” Throckmorton told What Now Charleston.
Dockside Dawgs opens this winter at 4211 Peachtree Rd.
“I grew up in Virginia, where my grandmother had a short-order restaurant. I remember back when I was 7 years old, I was standing on crates right beside her, working, making dogs and wrapping burgers. I embraced it,” he said.
Now, with a young son of his own, he’s excited to show him the ropes as he once learned, calling it “full circle”and “just amazing” to open his own outpost alongside his family.
The name Dockside Dawgs reflects the menu, the local area and pays homage to his grandmother.
“My grandmother’s restaurant sold hot dogs as its dominant menu item, and we wanted to embrace that,” Throckmorton said. “We’re also right here on the waterway, and behind us, probably an eighth of a mile, is a public boat ramp. Being so close, Dockside Dawgs rolled off my tongue, and I was like, ‘Holy moly! That’s it!’”
In the morning, the restaurant will serve homemade biscuits with bacon, sausage and ham. At lunch, diners can enjoy the infamous hot dogs, along with hamburgers, barbecue and bologna.
“As we grow and get our rhythm going, we’ll incorporate more on the menu. We’ll start doing omelets and blue plate specials in the evening,” he said.
The interior will feature a light-blue, boating-themed design to match the Intracoastal Waterway vibe.
“It’s a freshwater theme. We’re freshwater, brackish-water dominant. We wanted to cater to the freshwater fishing aspect. We have a 1962 soapbox car hanging from the ceiling that was here prior when it was The Porch. We’re going to take it down and hang a jon boat up with the old 32 Evinrude on the back of it,” Throckmorton said.
Filling the air will be music fitting the theme, including Kenny Chesney, bringing the vibe of being “On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful” to Dockside Dawgs.
“I’m a No Shoes Nation fan. We’ve seen Kenny in concert a lot. We’ll play Caribbean country music. We may add reggae and rock music, but it’ll be coastal,” he said.
Not only is Dockside Dawgs on the property, but Throckmorton said the two-acre site also includes the old T.B. Cooper General Store and a house.
“The general store was built in 1905, and it is completely like a time capsule walking in. It was originally like the Walmart of the 1900s, and then, when competition came along, it transitioned from a general store to a post office–the first post office in Socastee,” he said. “Right beside the general store is a house. It was built in 1908, so those two structures alone are over 115 years old.”
For the past several years, the house has operated as a wedding venue, with the store serving as a reception hall. Throckmorton plans to continue the tradition, with some weddings already on the schedule.
“We want to keep the nostalgia and keep the carpentry era appropriate. The house is going to be phase three. In the general store, we’ve already hung new sheers and new lights to give it a slightly updated vibe. I’m just so tickled to own a piece of history,” he said.
Throckmorton aims to open Dockside Dawgs in mid-February and looks forward to serving and giving back to the community.
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