Cody Brooks, who owns Shoobie's Ice Cream and The Pineapple Hut, told the Folly Current in August that "like many small businesses, we rely heavily on the summer months to carry us through the rest of the year."
This year Center Street spent the summer as a construction zone. The street the island gets back for November and December is new, and the businesses along it start the slow months with less summer money behind them than usual. That makes this year's holiday calendar on Center Street more important than it usually is, and the city has been acting like it knows that.
The island had a decent summer, but Center Street didn't
The Center Street Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements Project ran from May 2025 until July 2026, according to Live 5, and the city marked the finish with a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 1 at Center Street and East Cooper Avenue. In early July, Live 5 reported that the project had once been expected to finish in May and was then projected to last into August or September. The work replaced pipes about 60 years old with new ones three times the size.
The timing wasn't the city's choice. Mayor Chris Bizzell told the Folly Current that the project would cost about $12 million and that roughly $8 million came from the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program, administered by the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority. The grant set the schedule. As Bizzell put it, the city did not have "a lot of latitude" to stop work for six months and pick it back up after the season.
By the island's overall numbers, the summer held up. Bizzell said the traffic counter on the bridge logged more cars than at the same point the year before, and AirDNA data showed vacation rental occupancy slightly up. He also said those numbers did not mean business was up on Center Street, where the construction was concentrated. Results along the street varied. ABC News 4 reported that Pinky's general manager Jeff Caudill said they "broke our sales records from previous years, over a million dollars in revenue between the two properties." Perry Freeman of Coconut Joe's, at Center Street and West Ashley Avenue, told the Folly Current it had been "our slowest Summer since being open on Folly, and it's not even close."
The Washout's owner, Greg Marshall, said dust and noise near his open patio hit lunch harder than dinner, because crews weren't working in the evening. Drop-In owner Kristina Ogden said business was solid but wondered how much more it could have grown. Surfer Betty, a boutique trailer that opened this year next to The Pineapple Hut between West Erie and West Cooper, started its first Center Street summer in the middle of the work.
Locals were cut off too
The construction affected more than tourist traffic. DJ Rich, who owns Planet Follywood and sits on City Council, told ABC News 4 that the work "was harder for a lot of our locals to get out here." He described the bar as one that stays "pretty even all year because we're a locals place for the most part."
That's why the slow months count for more this year. In the same ABC News 4 report, other Center Street business owners said they expected customer traffic to drop as tourists head home after the summer season, which leaves more of the off-season business to the island's regulars. In July, Rich told Live 5 that the city had "some things planned for the residents in the off-season to kind of reward them for their pains."
What's new on the street
Construction was the story all summer, but the finished project leaves several lasting changes. The Folly Current listed them:
- Larger underground storm drainage pipes, new stormwater lines and check valves to clear standing water after high tides and downpours
- Bioretention cells, or rain gardens, to absorb runoff
- Permeable parking spaces and pervious PowerBLOCK pavers
- Repaved asphalt and new street lighting
- More palmetto trees, plus the engraved commemorative bricks, which were put back in place
Parking shifted a little too. The City of Folly Beach project page lists four parallel spaces removed from Center Street to make room for green infrastructure and 39 parallel spaces added within the project area. Live 5 described the new parallel spaces as paved on the side streets next to Center. On event days, some of the parking you'd expect to find right on Center Street will be a short walk away on a side street.
The first test ran in the rain
The city's first move after construction was to pay for a party. Before Mermaids & Mateys on Oct. 3, the Folly Current reported that the City of Folly Beach would cover admission for up to 6,000 people with reserved tickets and give free vendor spaces on Center Street or an adjoining side street to brick-and-mortar retail, food and beverage businesses. "All that money will come back to our businesses," Bizzell said.
Rain fell all day. Live 5 reported that crowds came anyway, filling Center Street for more than 80 art, craft and fashion vendors, live music, a dunk tank, a kids' zone and costume contests. The Alzheimer's Association's South Carolina Chapter took part again through Paint Folly Purple.
The Folly Association of Business's October issue of the Folly Current opened its directory page with "WELCOME BACK TO FOLLY BEACH!" and a request to take the family to dinner, do some shopping and keep supporting the local businesses. The same page notes a small change. Straws and stirrers are no longer handed out automatically at local businesses, but you can still ask for one.
The holiday calendar runs down the new street
Mermaids & Mateys was the first test. The tree lighting, Santa in the Park, the parade and the Flip Flop Drop all take place on Center Street or at Folly River Park, which sits on it, so those crowds will be on the rebuilt street in front of the businesses that had the hardest summer.
| Date | Event | Where | Timing details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Folly Beach Porchfest | Five porch stages: 120 East Huron, 120 West Erie, 111 East Cooper, 120 East Ashley, 206 West Cooper | 12 to 5 p.m. per the Folly Current |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Community Tree Lighting | Folly River Park on Center Street | 6:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Santa in the Park | Folly River Park | 5:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Folly Beach Christmas Parade | Center Street | Barricades at 9 a.m., roads closed by 11:30 a.m., parade at noon |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | Flip Flop Drop | Beach and Center Street | Fireworks at 7 p.m., Center Street closed to cars at 10 p.m., drop at midnight |
Porchfest is free and takes over porches and backyards around the island. The Folly Current's October issue lists noon to 5 p.m., but the FollyBeach.com listing still shows the time as TBD and points to the Porchfest Facebook page for the lineup. The listing recommends walking or biking because neighborhood streets fill up fast and parking rules are enforced.
The tree lighting is put on by the City of Folly Beach. The listing warns that parking near Folly River Park fills up fast and points to the city's holiday page for updates.
The parade is held the second Saturday of December. The street starts closing hours before the floats arrive, so if you park on Center that morning, plan to move before 9 a.m. Anyone can enter a float by registering with the city ahead of time, and the top floats win prizes. After the parade, Santa hands out goodies to kids at Folly River Park.
The Flip Flop Drop started as Charlotte Goodwin's idea. According to the event listing, it now draws more than a thousand people, who watch an oversized LED pair of flip flops start down over Center Street about a minute before midnight. Many restaurants stay open later that night, and nearly every bar books live music. The Bill Murray Polar Plunge follows at 11 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Where to spend the time between events
The quiet weeks between those dates matter just as much to the street. A few businesses are new since last winter or had their first season this year:
- Koko's on the Pier opened March 25, 2026, in the old Pier 101 space, according to the Folly Current. It's part of the same Tides Folly Beach group as Pinky's on the Beach and Roasted Coffee + Shop. Its website lists daily hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- 3 Gulls Creamery, at 105 East Huron Avenue, opened in June 2026. Rusty and Tavia Fogle own it and named it for their daughters. It serves 44 flavors of Hershey's ice cream plus hot dogs, and the Folly Current says coffee is coming soon.
- Surfer Betty opened this year, in the middle of the construction, beside The Pineapple Hut between West Erie and West Cooper. This fall is its first season on the finished street.
Flipper Finders, the boat tour and kayak rental company near the entrance to the island, used the summer to remodel its shop, owner Richard Brendel told the Folly Current. Hot Pursuit Donuts' owner, Lesley Lewis, told Live 5 in July that her staff was working longer hours to make what a couple of morning hours used to bring in.
Center Street's new parking layout and event closures affect anyone who lives or owns on Folly, and The Husted Team keeps track of these changes across the islands we serve. If you're thinking through what this season's changes mean for a property on Folly Beach, book an appointment and we'll go over it with you.
