For most of the last decade, downtown Conway sold itself on what already existed. The moss on the live oaks. The brick storefronts on Main. The Waccamaw slipping past behind the buildings like a well-kept secret. In 2026, that posture is shifting. A new restaurant has taken over the old marina store, a developer is finally moving on a long-stalled Riverwalk site, and the city is drawing lines around 800 acres it did not own two years ago. If you already live here, the map you carry in your head is about to need an update.
The change is not one big announcement. It is a stack of smaller ones, most of them dated within the last six months, all pointing the same direction: the river is becoming the front door again.
What's actually new along the Riverwalk
The most visible arrival is Conway Outpost, which took over the former Waccamaw Outfitters space at the marina. The operators, Thomas Guido along with Shannon and Eric Jordan, already run the Marina Bar and Grill at Barefoot Resort and Outriggers at Wacca Wache Marina, so this is their third Grand Strand location rather than a first-time experiment. The opening menu leans casual: paninis, flatbreads, loaded baked potatoes, ice cream freezers with Mini Melts and frozen lemonade. Kayak rentals are already running by the hour or day, and a small marina store sells bait, tackle, and lifejackets. A 4,200-square-foot tiki bar with a stage and outdoor seating is planned for the lot behind the building, with food trucks including SOS Care's coffee truck, Bean Dreaming, invited into the mix.
A block or so away, developer Tripp Nealy is finally advancing the lot next to Bonfire Taqueria on Second Avenue. His plan, presented to the city's Community Appearance Board in late January 2026, calls for a 9,835-square-foot building housing two restaurants of roughly 150 seats each, with roll-up garage doors on the river side so diners can eat looking straight at the Waccamaw. The building would sit eight to nine feet above the Riverwalk as flood protection. Nealy has been trying to build on this parcel for more than five years. The site once held the 19th-century Lower Warehouse, part of the Jerry Cox Company lumber operation, and Nealy carefully disassembled the old timbers and stored them at his farm in Green Sea with the intention of reusing the wood in the new structure. Tenants have not been announced. In his own words to the Post and Courier, he wants operators who "fit Conway."
Two new sit-down restaurants would meaningfully reshape a Riverwalk that, until now, has been anchored by Bonfire, Rivertown Bistro, and a handful of established downtown spots like Coppers and Crooked Oak Tavern. That matters more than it sounds. The Conway Chamber has publicly framed the added dining as a way to keep foot traffic on the Riverwalk during the slower months, not just festival weekends.
Sunday afternoons have a new default
Between festivals, Conway had a soft spot in its calendar: Sunday afternoons downtown were quiet. That changed in June 2026 with the launch of Sunday Funday, a five-Sunday series on the Town Green running 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on select dates from June 14 through August 23. It is presented by two local food trucks, The Clever Cleaver and Lemons and Dough, with additional trucks, live music, and family games rotating through. Tent vendors are not part of the format, which keeps the footprint loose and the food-truck lineup the draw.
For residents, the utility of the series is less about the novelty and more about the timing. It gives a walkable, low-commitment reason to be downtown at a hour when most of Main Street's shops are closing up. Bring a chair, eat, listen to a set, and leave.
Two summer dates worth blocking off
If you only put two Conway-specific events on the calendar this season, these are the two the rest of the Grand Strand is watching.
| Event | Date | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Rivertown Wine Around | June 13, 2026 | A downtown stroll with wine tastings staged at shops, restaurants, and tasting stations, paired with small bites and live music. |
| Conway Riverfest | June 27, 2026, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. | The city's flagship summer festival since 1980. 2026 headliners are Slaughter and Vixen with local opener Badlander, plus the Paddle Battle River Races in kayak, canoe, and paddleboard divisions starting at 10 a.m., a golf cart parade down Elm Street, and a 9:30 p.m. fireworks show over the Waccamaw sponsored by Conway National Bank. |
A few practical notes on Riverfest that first-timers miss: road closures begin at 5 p.m. Friday and stay in effect until after the fireworks Saturday night, and the event does not allow coolers, bicycles, skateboards, scooters, or non-service dogs on the grounds. If you live inside the closure ring, plan your car accordingly.
The bigger story most residents haven't caught up on
The Sunday Funday series and the Nealy restaurants are the near-term news. The longer story is the land.
In 2025, state lawmakers agreed to transfer more than 800 acres from Santee Cooper to the City of Conway. The parcel straddles U.S. 501 between the Waccamaw River and U.S. 701 South, on the site of a former power plant. City officials have described what they intend to build there as "the equivalent of a small state park," with most of the work concentrated on the side of 501 closest to downtown. Draft plans include extending the Riverwalk roughly 3.5 miles, adding a second marina, and carving out an inland beach for swimming.
Read that list carefully. A 3.5-mile Riverwalk extension is not a widened sidewalk. It roughly quadruples the length of the existing promenade, which currently runs about a mile through downtown. A city-owned swimming beach on the Waccamaw side, if it survives design and permitting, would be the first of its kind in this stretch of the river. It is the sort of amenity that changes how a Wednesday evening feels, not just how a summer Saturday feels.
None of this is on a fixed public timeline yet, and residents should read announcements as they come rather than treating renderings as promises. But the direction of travel is set. The city is spending political capital on the river.
How to spend a Saturday without leaving the 29526
For a resident who has done the Riverwalk-and-lunch routine a hundred times, here is a version worth trying this month.
- Morning: Conway Farmers Market on Saturday from 8 a.m., then coffee somewhere on Main.
- Late morning: Walk the Riverwalk from the marina end past the Nealy site so you can see the footprint before construction starts. The still-standing walls of the old Lower Warehouse are a photo everyone in town has, and they will not be there indefinitely.
- Lunch: Grab something at Conway Outpost and eat by the water, or hold out for Bonfire.
- Afternoon: Horry County Museum, then a slow browse through the shops between Third and Main.
- Early evening: If it is a Sunday Funday date, the Town Green from 3 to 6. If not, a show at the Theatre of the Republic, which is running productions through the summer including Dear Evan Hansen and Mary Poppins Jr.
- Dinner: Rivertown Bistro, Coppers, or Crooked Oak Tavern depending on the mood.
None of these are secrets. Sequencing them around what is new, though, is the current-resident advantage. Someone visiting from Myrtle Beach for the day will see the Riverwalk. Someone who lives here can watch it change.
A note on the change itself
Conway has spent years being the alternative to the beach: quieter, older, cheaper, prettier in a Southern-town-postcard way. The 2026 additions do not undo any of that. What they do is give the downtown a second gear. The Waccamaw was always the reason the town exists. It is starting to feel like the reason to be downtown on a Tuesday.
If you have been thinking about your own place in this shift, whether that is a home closer to the Riverwalk, a rental property that benefits from the new foot traffic, or a commercial site along the corridor the city is investing in, Liat Edri is happy to talk through what the changes mean for your specific block. Reach out for a free home valuation or a candid conversation about the Conway market.
