The Shopping Trip That Knows What It Wants

Premium shopping on the Grand Strand doesn't look like what most visitors expect. The resort wear racks and outlet corridors are there, but they're not the whole story. At Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach, two stops sit within steps of each other and answer the same question — what am I shopping for today? — in ways that couldn't be more different. Monkee's of Myrtle Beach is the answer for the shopper who already knows her aesthetic, who walks in with an occasion in mind and leaves with something hand-picked by a buyer with a real eye. The selection is seasonal, edited tight, and styled the moment you walk through the door. Then there's the other path — the one where you go in looking for a Pandora charm and leave carrying a hand-sculpted sea turtle you didn't know existed. That's The Mole Hole. In business on the Grand Strand since 1978, it is the rare shop where the browsing is the point.

Mandi Reaves grew up in North Myrtle Beach and opened Monkee's here in 2019 alongside her aunt and co-owner, Sonya Martin. Their shared observation was simple: the Grand Strand had resort wear. What it lacked was somewhere a woman could walk in, describe an occasion, and leave dressed head to toe in something she hadn't seen everywhere else.

Monkee's fills that gap. The inventory — designer clothing, shoes, and accessories from labels including Anna Cate, Crosby, and Esqualo — rotates seasonally and is hand-picked each time. The store is intentionally edited for that reason. What you find here you won't find in the next shop down the boardwalk. Reviewers consistently point to the buyer's eye as the differentiator: their buyer has a great eye when choosing items is the kind of comment that shows up again and again.

The shopping experience leans personal. Staff come to you. They'll suggest, style, and put together a complete look if that's what you want. The store's own framing — shopping in your most fashionable girlfriend's oversized closet — captures the atmosphere accurately. It's relaxed and attentive at the same time. You arrive with an intention, and the store works around it.

This is the stop for the shopper who already knows her aesthetic, who has an event coming up, who wants to leave with something that fits and feels chosen rather than settled for.

The Mole Hole has been at this longer than most visitors have been alive. In business on the Grand Strand since 1978, with locations at both Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the Beach, it has built the kind of loyalty that comes only from repeat visits — and repeat surprise.

The draw is abundance. Fine gifts, collectibles, jewelry, clocks, wall art, figurines, candles, and things that resist easy categorization all share the floor. Swarovski crystal. Pandora beads. Rhythm clocks. Spartina handbags. Brighton accessories. Jim Shore collections. Wee Forest Folk. The inventory is not curated in the Monkee's sense — it is assembled, broad, and constantly rotating. Regulars say the same thing: if you see it here, buy it now. You won't find it anywhere else. That's not a sales pitch. It's an accurate description of how the store works.

What reviewers remember most isn't what they went in for. It's what they left with. A shopper who went in for a necklace left with a hand-crafted sea turtle sculpture by an artist featured in the store. A couple who stopped to look at Brighton charms left carrying a coastal handbag and a stack of jewelry they'd had no intention of buying. The browsing generates the desire. That's the behavioral truth of The Mole Hole — you don't know you need something until you see it, and you see things here you won't see anywhere else on the Grand Strand.

This is the stop for the shopper who wants to wander, who shops as a form of exploration, who finds something meaningful precisely because they weren't looking for it.

The two stores sit within the same complex, and most visitors to Barefoot Landing will walk past both. The question worth asking before you go in is simpler than it sounds: do I have something specific in mind, or am I open?

At Monkee's, coming in with a clear occasion — a wedding, a dinner, a specific wardrobe gap — gives the staff something to work with. The personalized service is the product. Arrive without a purpose and you can still browse comfortably, but the experience is designed around shoppers who know what they want elevated.

At The Mole Hole, the opposite is true. Coming in with a rigid list slightly misses the point. The store rewards the open eye. The Broadway at the Beach location runs larger with more variety; the Barefoot Landing location is a shorter, more concentrated version of the same spirit. Leave extra time at whichever you choose — both stores are the kind where an hour disappears without warning.

Neither stop requires a plan to be worth it. One just works better when you have one.

Monkee's of Myrtle Beach Barefoot Landing, 4822-A Hwy 17 South, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582 (843) 281-0296 Mon–Sat 10 AM–6 PM, Sun 12–5 PM (hours vary — confirm before visiting) Online shopping available; ships nationally monkeesofmyrtlebeach.com

The Mole Hole Barefoot Landing: 4730 Hwy 17 S, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582 | (843) 272-5846 Broadway at the Beach: 1323 Celebrity Circle, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 | (843) 626-7782 Hours vary by location and season — confirm before visiting myrtlebeachmolehole.com

Both Barefoot Landing locations are walkable from each other within the complex. No reservations needed at either.

Both of these stops serve the same traveler question — what do I bring home from this trip? — but they answer it from opposite directions. One starts with your intention and builds around it. The other hands you a floor full of things you didn't know you wanted and trusts you to find the one that stops you.

Neither is the wrong way to shop. The right one depends on which kind of shopper walked through that Barefoot Landing gate today.