Granite Countertops in Murrels Inlet, SC

Husband-and-Wife Duo Transform Their Passion for Wellness with their Seventh Spa Location

To celebrate the grand opening of the Murrells Inlet spa, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on May 1st. In the days leading up to the grand opening, new clients who sign up for a Hand & Stone membership will receive several exclusive benefits: a zero-enrollment fee, and one enhancement per month (up to a $30 value) with their membership. Furthermore, after their first payment, new members will also receive a free service gift card. Additionally, leading up to May 1st, all clients, regardless of membership status, can purchase gift cards at the discounted member pricing.

Hand & Stone of Murrells Inlet is owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo, Anthony and Traci Nocito, seasoned entrepreneurs with a deep passion for wellness and business excellence. Anthony, a disabled veteran, spent his career as the Director of the Americas for a leading Life Science Company, where he oversaw sales and strategic growth initiatives across multiple markets. His leadership experience, combined with a steadfast dedication to service, has shaped his approach to business ownership. Traci, with three decades of expertise in mortgage banking operations, brings a strong background in financial management, customer relations, and operational efficiency.

“As long-time members of Hand & Stone, we understand the value of consistent self-care and high-quality service,” said Traci Nocito. “We’re excited to bring this experience to the Murrells Inlet community, offering a relaxing and rejuvenating environment for all. Our goal is to create a space where guests feel welcomed, valued, and empowered to invest in their well-being. Whether someone is seeking relief from stress, muscle tension, or skincare concerns, we want them to trust that they’re receiving the best possible care from our dedicated professionals. We’re proud to be part of this incredible community and look forward to building lasting relationships with our guests.”

Anthony and Traci Nocito’s journey with Hand & Stone began as loyal members, where they experienced firsthand the benefits of consistent self-care. Their appreciation for the brand’s high-quality services and customer-centric approach inspired them to transition into ownership, acquiring their first two locations in 2017 in Pennsylvania to share their passion for wellness with their community. Since then, they have successfully expanded their portfolio by owning the entire Myrtle Beach Market with locations across South Carolina —Huntingdon Valley, Flourtown, University City, Broomall, North Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, and now Murrells Inlet. This will continue Nocito’s streak of opening a spa for three consecutive years in a row. As active members of the North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach Chambers of Commerce, the Nocito’s are dedicated to fostering strong community connections and enhancing accessibility to premium wellness services.

Hand & Stone introduces high-quality professional massage services, including Swedish, Himalayan Salt, Sports, Deep Tissue, Oncology and Prenatal massages to the charming Georgetown County. Clients can also enjoy Hand & Stone’s signature hot stone massage and best-in-class facials, all tailored to each individual's needs and to address specific skin concerns. With a wide range of services available for women, men, and teens, the new spa provides a personalized experience for every guest.

Like all Hand & Stone spas nationwide, the new Murrells Inlet spa offers advanced skincare and spa services that incorporate new technologies at the forefront of the wellness market to enhance each guest’s overall experience. These advanced services include the Diamond Glow facial, NuFACE microcurrent facial, and LED Phototherapy facial, as well as innovations such as CBD oil enhancements, and partnerships with award-winning skincare lines Dermalogica®, Image, and ClarityRX.

Hand & Stone services are performed by experienced licensed estheticians and licensed massage therapists. The brand’s commitment to extraordinary guest experiences has translated into unparalleled expertise at each location, supported by best-in-class training and ongoing educational resources for all team members. At Hand & Stone Murrells Inlet, guests have access to a team of wellness experts who specialize in providing exceptional skincare and massage treatments, ensuring a tranquil, relaxing, and comfortable environment.

The Murrells Inlet location will be open Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information about Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, services, or to schedule an appointment, call (864) 719-4045 or visit https://www.handandstonemurrellsinlet.com/.

About Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa was founded in 2004 by John Marco, a dedicated physical therapist with a vision to make high-quality wellness services accessible to everyone. Today, with over 650 locations across 38 states and Canada, Hand & Stone continues to set the standard in the spa industry. From therapeutic massages to advanced skincare treatments, the brand delivers exceptional, customized wellness experiences. By partnering with trusted names like Dermalogica, IMAGE Skincare, and ClarityRx Clinical Skin Care, Hand & Stone ensures every client receives top-tier quality. In addition to providing great service, Hand & Stone was recognized by CXcellence in 2024 for its outstanding customer-centric culture. The brand has ranked on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list for a decade, coming in first in the spa category several times. For more information on Hand & Stone Spa services, visit https://handandstone.com/. For information on the franchise opportunity, visit www.handandstone.com/franchise/.

SOURCE Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa

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As the gateway to the southern portion of Horry County, the Inlet Square Mall re-development project wants to re-nourish a property unoccupied in recent years.

One of the Myrtle Beach area’s biggest shopping centers, the project intends to bring retail and business back to the site by converting the indoor facility into a more spacious shopping area.

This re-envisioning of the property included knocking down much of the enclosed mall that resided there before.

Now, the developer says that portion of the project is near completion. In an interview with The Sun News, Real Estate Manager for Paramount Development Corporation Neal Bowers said demolition will wrap up in the next few weeks.

He added debris removal is still ongoing. Bowers said that adding parking lots, site work, stormwater improvements and other utility work should start in April 2025.

Horry County Land Records shows that several parcels on the property received permits for this new phase for the site.

The project has changed from earlier plans for the mall. Previously, Paramount Development indicated that the project would include residential housing in a brochure for the property.

Bowers said the firm received interest from other developers to add a residential component, but Paramount currently has no plans to build housing on the site. He said the tract doesn’t have residential zoning, and Paramount has not submitted any rezoning applications.

While residential development could occur sometime in the future, Bowers stressed that Paramount has nothing in the works.

“We’re not residential developers ourselves, but we are not pursuing residential on the site,” Bowers said. “We have zero plans, zero land for residential, regardless of previous conceptual plans.”

Plans to revitalize the area are in motion, and the mall site has already attracted new businesses to a property that once saw many of its tenants close.

The Sun News reported in July 2024 that a Home2Suites by Hilton will open near the Belk store at the mall, along with a Hobby Lobby replacing the former JCPenney. Horry County Land Records show that the property submitted several permits for the interior and exterior renovations of the Hobby Lobby.

Bowers added that the firm signed a lease for a new business to open in a large portion of the former Kmart location next to Planet Fitness. More companies plan to open there, too.

The Myrtle Beach area Mexican restaurant chain El Cerro Grande plans to open at the former TGI Friday’s property, and Bowers said the eatery bought the building.

According to Horry County Land Records, El Cerro Grande bought the tract for $3 million in December 2024. The Inlet Square Mall isn’t the only Grand Strand shopping center set to undergo re-development.

The Sun News reported in November 2024 that the firm Rise Partners bought Conway’s Coastal Centre for $14 million.

Rise Partners Partner Greg Wilson said in an October 2024 interview that the firm wants to start project construction in 2025 and finish sometime in 2026.

“We’re super excited about it,” Wilson said in an interview with The Sun News. “Conway is growing and needs better options in the market.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

The Sun News

Ben Morse is the Retail and Leisure Reporter for The Sun News. Morse covers local business and Coastal Carolina University football and was awarded third place in the 2023 South Carolina Press Association News Contest for sports beat reporting and second place for sports video in the all-daily division. Morse previously worked for The Island Packet, covering local government. Morse graduated from American University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism and economics and is originally from Prospect, Kentucky.

A cacophony of power tools whirring, rubber mallets slamming, and oyster shells tumbling saturated the scene of local volunteers constructing manufactured wire reefs to restore oyster beds along South Carolina's coast.

As spring approaches, oyster shell recycling in the Myrtle Beach area transitions to constructing and deploying manufactured wire reefs in the continued effort to establish living shorelines.

South Carolina Oyster Recycling Enhancement, a program in Charleston with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, coordinates with state agencies and nonprofit organizations to create living shorelines.

SCORE biologist Nick Plaisted said living shorelines are the ultimate goal of oyster shell recycling.

Living shorelines are oyster beds in the front, with spartina grass in the back. Restoring these with manufactured wire reefs provides great benefits to ecological processes, improves water quality, promotes biodiversity and resists erosion.

Boat wakes can erode vulnerable banks without oyster beds.

“As that boat wake comes in and hits that oyster bed, it actually dissipates all that wave energy,” Plaisted said. "Instead of erosion, we actually see the opposite when we deploy these. We see the increase of our sediment, which is awesome. It starts to build up behind the MWRs and we can go in and plant spartina grass."

South Carolina Coastal Conservation League is a nonprofit that aims to maintain a balance between human development and preservation of natural resources.

SCCCL Wildlife biologist Trapper Fowler said the nonprofit organizes efforts with state agencies throughout the year to help raise awareness about volunteer opportunities with oyster shell recycling.

Oysters start spawning when water temperature hits 68 degrees Fahrenheit, usually around the end of March. At this time, the wire reef cages are ready to be deployed along the coast. Once oyster larvae settle into shells, the “spat” start filter feeding, and grow their own shell at the rate of about an inch a year. Plaisted added a single oyster filters 2.5 gallons of water per hour.

Huntington Beach State Park employee Stratford Abbott worked his first manufactured wire reef construction at Nature Center at the state park in Murrells Inlet on March 20. He said a separate event takes place to deploy MWRs onto shorelines.

SCDNR identifies spots along the coast to place them and volunteers arrange the MWRs into a U-shape along shorelines.

“It’s fun, you get covered in pluff mud. It’s really neat when you see the ones they put out from a few months ago to see how much they’ve grown,” Abbott said.

Abbott, a recent graduate of Socastee High School, grew up in the inlet and watched firsthand how natural processes and human development shift and change the sandbars, coastlines, barrier islands and maritime forests. He said contributing to efforts that aim to restore the environment is a way to reciprocate the boat rides and oyster roasts the marsh provided throughout his life.

“Seafood is a big industry here. A lot of people fall in love with this area because of our coastal wetlands, our marshes and our seafood and it kind of ties it all together. Oysters are a really cool part of our history,” Abbott said.

He said volunteering at these events is a great way for residents new to the coast to become more in tune with the area and give back to it.

Beth Milne and her husband volunteered their services at the MWR construction at Huntington State Park in Murrells Inlet on March 20.

“I had no idea what an oyster reef cage is,” Milne said. “I mean, personally, I’m not a real oyster fan when it comes to eating them, but my daughters are. We’ll see these little signs ‘oyster recycling center’ and I'm like, why are they doing this?”

The couple moved to South Carolina from northern Virginia a couple of years ago and Milne said they were motivated to learn more about the history of the area and how to preserve the environment.

In a group of about six people, the volunteers used wire gridwall panels, a large clamp, mallets and power tools. They use the clamp to shape the wire gridwall panels into two cages, the smaller is placed into the larger, leaving a space for recycled oyster shells and coconut husks.

This creates interstitial spaces — nooks, crannies, cracks and crevices for small creatures like invertebrates and crabs to live. Interstitial spaces attract other invertebrates and fish that want to feed on them, bringing more fish that bring birds.

Plaisted, the biologist, said this cascading effect on the food web builds an ecosystem of animals congregating around an oysterbed simply because oysters provide hiding spaces for little critters.

Power tools are used to seal the cage and mallets are helpful to mash the shells down if the cage will not shut.

Milne said she has always enjoyed volunteer efforts and contributed to building houses out west when she was younger, but her fingers now lock up and limit what she can do. She could not participate with the equipment, but Milne enthusiastically filled the borders with coconut husks and oyster shells. (Coconut husks are biodegradable and act as a substrate for oyster larvae and reinforces stability of the manufactured reefs.)

Oyster shell recycling is the first step in the journey to living shorelines. Well, second step accounting for South Carolina’s pastime of oyster roasts throughout the fall and winter.

“That’s part of our culture. There’s nothing like standing around a fire at an oyster roast with friends and family,” Fowler said.

Oct. 1 marks the beginning of the harvesting season. Individuals and seafood retailers trudge through marshes gathering oysters for friends, family and restaurants along the coast to host festive outdoor events for oyster roasting, shucking and chowing down.

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Unfortunately, shellfish grounds for harvesting in the marshes along the Grand Strand are largely restricted by SCDNR due to poor water quality.

SCCCL North coast office director Becky Ryon said fecal bacteria is primary cause of poor water quality and DNA sourcing determined birds are not the cause, but rather pet waste in water runoff from not picking up after dogs.

Boardwalk Billies Manager Whitney Prince became interested in oyster shell recycling when he saw time lapse videos of oysters filtering a tank of bacteria filled water compared to one without. He recruited SCORE to participate in the Roast for the Coast event March 11 to raise awareness about the importance of oyster shell recycling. They filled a 165 bushel trailer on the day of the roast and recycled about 25,000 oyster shells.

However, Prince said there is not currently a feasible recycling option for daily operations.

“It’s not the prettiest job in the world. It’s oyster shells and you would want them picked up on a regular schedule for a large scale restaurant. As much as I’m an oyster enthusiast, I wouldn’t be consistent at taking the oyster shells to the dump all the time,” he said.

Prince said he has been in touch with SCORE’s main hub in Charleston to learn how they organize their operations and would like to see an equally developed network established in Myrtle Beach.

There are different drop off bin locations to bring oyster shells to be recycled along the coast. SCDNR released a bulletin in February seeking volunteers to retrieve restaurants’ oyster shells and bring them to recycling centers.

SCORE takes recycled oyster shells from drop off locations to Charleston to quarantine. The shells sit out in the sun attracting bacteria and insects that decompose organic matter. Any other bacteria, viruses or pathogens will cook off in the sun. After about six months, the shells are clean and MWRs are constructed.

“We could not do the work we do without volunteers. I love that we use people power. That's what we do. We take people out there, we put in the sweat, we put in the hard work and we deploy this stuff with humans instead of using large equipment,” Plaisted said.

Loris High School’s Future Farmers of America program has coordinated three field trips with Horry County Stormwater Department since spring 2024 as an ongoing oyster restoration project. About 35 students from the FFA program spend five hours at the Stormwater Department’s south strand office constructing the MWRs.

FFA President at Loris Mason Jacques said the field trips are fun and the students work hard, stopping only for lunch.

“We knew what our goal was and had our goal in mind and just kept pushing forward,” he said. Jacques added so many students signed up for the field trip they had to tighten eligibility restrictions like age and class grades.

The upcoming field trip at the Murrells Inlet marsh on April 7 will be the first time the FFA students deploy the MWRs into shorelines.

Sazie Eagan is a reporter for MyHorryNews. Reach her at 802-558-1758 or sazie.eagan@myhorrynews.com.