Big Fish, a 21,000-square-foot seafood restaurant, opened September 18, 2026 at 1321 Celebrity Circle in Broadway at the Beach. It fills the building Liberty Brewery & Grill vacated in 2020 and adds a 5,000-square-foot covered deck over Lake Broadway with a live music stage, a 70-seat bar and a 26-seat oyster bar.
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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — One of the largest vacant restaurant buildings at Broadway at the Beach is vacant no longer. Big Fish opened on September 18, 2026 at 1321 Celebrity Circle, taking over the space that sat empty after Liberty Brewery & Grill closed in 2020, and it opened at a scale that matches the building: 21,000 square feet of restaurant, with another 5,000 square feet of covered deck hanging over the water.
What Opened, and Where
The address is 1321 Celebrity Circle, inside Broadway at the Beach, and the footprint is substantial by any measure. At 21,000 square feet the dining room alone is larger than most standalone restaurants on the Grand Strand, and that figure does not include the deck.
Demolition of the interior began in October 2025, which gives a sense of how thorough the rebuild was. This was not a repaint and a new sign on an existing floor plan.
The Deck Is the Point
The single most consequential thing about Big Fish is the 5,000-square-foot covered deck overlooking Lake Broadway, and it is covered rather than open, which matters considerably in a climate that delivers afternoon thunderstorms through most of the summer and humidity that makes shade a requirement rather than a preference.
The deck includes a stage for live music, which puts Big Fish in a small category at Broadway at the Beach: a waterside room where the entertainment is part of the restaurant rather than something you walk to afterward.
The Bar, the Screens and the Oysters
The main bar seats 70, and reporting on the opening describes 22 televisions mounted above it. The restaurant’s own site puts the total count at 30 televisions across the space, so the fuller picture is a wall of screens over the bar and more scattered through the rest of the room.
Separately from the main bar there is a 26-seat oyster bar, which is a meaningful piece of programming rather than a garnish. A dedicated oyster bar with its own seating signals a raw program that is staffed and shucking to order, not a tray of pre-opened shells brought out from the kitchen.
What the Kitchen Is Doing
The concept is seafood-forward, built around the oyster bar and fresh local fish, with Southern-style fried chicken as the notable non-seafood anchor.
The opening menu prices give a sense of the range. Fish and chips runs $18.50 and a half bird of the fried chicken is $16, while a Lowcountry boil is $36 and a Maine roll sits at $31. That is a spread wide enough to cover a casual lunch on the deck and a full dinner without the menu feeling like it is pulling in two directions.
Hours
Big Fish opens daily at 11 a.m. Sunday through Thursday the kitchen runs until 9 p.m. with the restaurant open until 10, and on Friday and Saturday the kitchen goes until 10 with the restaurant open until 11.
Happy hour runs from 4 to 6 p.m. every day. The restaurant can be reached at 843-984-3564.
Who Is Behind It
The restaurant is a project of Peter Haentjels, who also operates Dead Dog Saloon and The Claw House. Both are Murrells Inlet restaurants on the MarshWalk, and both are known for the same combination Big Fish is reaching for — seafood, a waterside deck and live music as a regular fixture rather than an occasional event.
That track record is the most useful thing to know about Big Fish before visiting. The format is one this operator has run successfully elsewhere on the Grand Strand, scaled up and moved inland to a lake instead of a marsh.
The Building Had Been Empty Since 2020
The space belonged to Liberty Brewery & Grill, which opened with Broadway at the Beach and ran for about 25 years before closing in 2020. It had operated earlier under the name Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery, and its closure was announced in December 2019 alongside plans to consolidate with Liberty Tap Room.
A prominent waterfront building sitting dark for five years is a visible gap in a property that depends on foot traffic flowing past occupied storefronts, which is part of why this particular opening carries more weight than its square footage alone would suggest.
Where It Fits at Broadway
Big Fish joins a run of recent activity at Broadway at the Beach, and the pattern across those additions leans toward larger footprints and entertainment built into the venue rather than dining alone.
For visitors staying up the coast in Cherry Grove Beach, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach or Windy Hill, Broadway at the Beach is a 25 to 35 minute drive south depending on traffic on U.S. 17, where overnight intersection work continues through June 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources: The Myrtle Beach Sun News, via Yahoo and NewsBreak syndication, September 18, 2026, for the opening date, the 1321 Celebrity Circle address, the 21,000-square-foot size, the 5,000-square-foot covered deck, the 70-seat bar with 22 televisions and the 26-seat oyster bar. Bigfishmb.com, the restaurant’s own site, for hours, phone number, menu items and prices, the 30-television figure and the entertainment deck description. What Now Charleston, April 22, 2026, for operator Peter Haentjels and his Dead Dog Saloon and Claw House connection, the Liberty Brewery & Grill history and the October 2025 demolition start. Visit Myrtle Beach, for the menu focus on oysters, local seafood and Southern fried chicken. WMBF News, December 2019, for the announced closure of Liberty Brewery & Grill. Broadway at the Beach’s own property listing confirms the restaurant as open.