Myrtle Beach leaders discuss possibility of Pedal Pub franchise coming to city

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A potential Pedal Pub franchise could be coming to the Myrtle Beach area.

The topic wasn’t a regular Myrtle Beach City Council agenda item, but was discussed in Tuesday morning’s workshop, leaving several councilmembers with questions and concerns.

The Pedal Pub franchise is looking to start two different types of tours in downtown — one being a pub crawl starting and ending at Grand Strand Brewing, and the other being a sightseeing tour.

Assistant City Manager Josh Bruegger said Global Leisure Management, who currently manages the SkyWheel, is the company behind the plan. The Pedal Pub bikes would be steel and aluminum-framed party bikes.

Each one would be propelled by pedals but have an electric assist to aid in the power. It will have a 16-person capacity including the tour pilot.

“They propose the hours of operation would start at 11 a.m. and 10 p.m.,” Bruegger said. “There would be two different tours, to where you could go sign up. $39 you could end up getting mixed-matched with other people or you could rent the entire thing out for a private tour, that’d be the other option.”

Bruegger said the Pedal Pub bikes would have brakes, lights and safety equipment. But some councilmembers still had concerns and were against the idea.

“I would need a lot of, a lot of space to grow into this idea, for sure,” councilwoman Debbie Conner said. “This isn’t something I’m excited about to start with, you know, all the people you have on board. Great people — I have a great deal of respect for, but it’s just hard for me to get around.”

Mayor Brenda Bethune said she’s all for adding a new experience to the city, but wants to continue to explore the idea and see what the potential franchise agreement would look like.

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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work he r e .

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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here .

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