Morning opening of Barefoot Landing businesses interrupted by fire of 2 stores

Five Ron Jon Surf Shop employees gathered Tuesday morning in a Barefoot Landing parking lot, car trunk open, waiting to get access into their store.

A fire in North Myrtle Beach’s shopping and entertainment center erupted in the early morning Tuesday, heavily damaging Liam John/Johnnie O, a men’s clothing store, and Francesca’s Collections, a women’s clothing and jewelry store, according to North Myrtle Beach fire chief Billy Floyd. It appears the roof of Liam John collapsed.

As the sun was continuing to rise and other businesses were preparing to open, fire and public safety trucks were parked all throughout the large parking lot in front of Ron Jon, Chico’s and the fire-damaged businesses.

The nearby Blueberry’s Grill was still in operation, with most of the breakfast eaters only paying attention to the scene with quick glances.

Police tape protected most of the parking lot, with security and police driving around to make sure Barefoot Landing visitors didn’t trespass. Until security could tell the Ron Jon employees they were good to go, all they could do was wait.

Ron Jon usually opens at 10 a.m., but the employees present in the parking lot had to be there between 8 and 9 a.m. to prepare the store for opening, they said. On Tuesday, there was a bit of a delay because of the fire that started at 2:45 a.m.

Chase Keevert, a manager at Ron Jon, said because of the area around Ron Jon being blocked off, their truck full of product shipments wouldn’t be able to make it to the store. He joked with the others about driving to the warehouse and hauling the products themselves.

At around 9 a.m., after one last spray of the fire hose, fire trucks started leaving the premises.

In the meantime, the other South Carolina location of Liam John/Johnnie O is open in Mount Pleasant. There are also two other Francesca’s locations in the area still open, one in Myrtle Beach Tanger Outlets and one in Market Common.

Attempts from The Sun News to contact Liam John/Johnnie O and Francesca’s Tuesday morning were unsuccessful. Barefoot Landing was not immediately available to comment.