Larry Higgins likes to think outside the box when it comes to business.
The native of Queens, New York has ventured to the tee box with his latest idea.
Higgins has owned a BurgerFi restaurant for a decade in Sayebrook Town Center off S.C. 544.
It’s a large space for a burger joint, so he mulled over what he could add to enhance the business and its offerings.
As of mid-February, his BurgerFi is a co-branded business with the addition of Golftopia Myrtle Beach.
Higgins said he spent $80,000 to build a room within BurgerFi that features a top-of-the-line Trackman iO golf simulator and launch monitor.
“Even though you’ve got something good, you’ve got to constantly reinvent yourself,” Higgins said. “It may be unorthodox for some people that a golf simulator is in a restaurant, but opposites attract, and it makes perfect sense if you really think about it.
“For the concept I wanted to achieve, I believe I have the best burger in Myrtle Beach, now I have the best golf simulator in Myrtle Beach.”
The room charge starts at $35 per hour, with an added $5 for each additional guest up to six people.
The room features a couch facing the simulator, with bartop seating behind the couch for a convenient place to eat and drink. It has retractable black curtains to separate and isolate players from diners.
The room is decorated with carpeted walls and a black walnut coat rack with golf club iron heads as the hangars. “It’s a conversation piece,” Higgins said.
Paired with BurgerFi’s menu for golfers are wine and beer, featuring six beers on tap that rotate but always include seasonal and local craft brews.
“They drink and eat, and they’re having a good time,” Higgins said. “It makes for a good marriage.”
Higgins doesn’t play golf, and admittedly doesn’t know a lot about the game. But he knows people who play, and how passionate they are about it.
So he figured he’d have some loyal customers once they had the experience.
“People who play golf [freakin’] love golf,” Higgins said. “They live for it. . . . Like anything else, you love it that much, you will invest in it. And what they get out of it is it brings them happiness.”
Higgins said the simulator has about 400 courses available, numerous golf games that can be played, a putting setting, and a driving range setting for those who want to practice and work on their game. The Trackman iO gives feedback on a variety of swing variables including club, impact and ball data points.
Golftopia is equipped with a mobile tripod that can hold a camera or phone so players can video their swings.
Scott Tanguay, the head of instruction and Callaway club fitting at The Coastal Golf Academy at Whispering Pines, has partnered with Golftopia to be an on-site instructor by appointment.
Higgins said Trackmans are connected throughout the country, as well.
“If you want to play your friend say in Boston, he can get on a Trackman in Boston and you can play him from here,” Higgins said.
BurgerFi is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and Golftopia is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Higgins is considering opening for breakfast, in part so food will be available for early golfers, and may expand both restaurant and simulator hours moving into the summer.
He’s also considering special nights such as a ladies’ night, and team league competitions.
“There are so many opportunities with this that I have not yet explored, but I will,” Higgins said. “I’m just trying to get off the ground right now.”
The move and the business
Higgins was involved in several industries in New York before moving to Myrtle Beach, including trucking, vending machines, a coffee business, and a water business, and he is a former member of the Teamsters union.
He and his wife, Shelly Braun, a construction company controller, vacationed in Myrtle Beach and quickly decided they wanted to eventually move here.
“I said this is where we’re going to retire, and I came the next year and bought a house,” Higgins said. “I sat on that house for about five years . . . then I just said, ‘You know what, I’m selling everything and I’m coming down here.’ “
Higgins traveled to Myrtle Beach to scout business opportunities before moving, learned of BurgerFi and its health-conscious model, and met with BurgerFi representatives in New York before deciding to become a franchisee on the Grand Strand.
“With all this talk you’re hearing about food and health, BurgerFi is ahead of the curve, and has been ahead of the curve since Day One,” Higgins said. “There’s no steroids, hormones or antibiotics in our burgers. Our meat is proprietary and it’s clean. We’re a healthy alternative”
In addition to a multitude of burger options, the menu includes grilled and fried chicken, hand-cut french fries, salads, and frozen custard.
Higgins’ nephew, Anthony Astol, is the general manager for both businesses within the building.
“He’s my nephew. I had to give him a title,” Higgins joked.
