If you’re rolling into Myrtle Beach for the first time and you want to know where the locals actually eat breakfast — not where the hotel concierge sends you — ask someone at a bait shop or a golf course. They’ll probably say Crocker’s Eggs N’ Grits, a small, cash-friendly diner on Restaurant Row off Kings Highway that doesn’t bother with ocean views or Instagram backdrops. What it does bother with is food that lands on the table hot, in large quantities, for not much money.
I’ve been going to Crocker’s off and on for a few years now, and my order hasn’t changed. The shrimp and grits plate — real stone-ground grits, not the instant stuff — comes loaded with plump local shrimp, a little andouille, and a gravy that has enough pepper to actually wake you up. It runs about $13 or $14 depending on the season. For context, a bowl of grits at a hotel breakfast buffet nearby costs more than that and tastes like paste. The eggs Benedict and the biscuits-and-gravy are also worth your attention, and the biscuits specifically are made in-house every morning. You can tell because they’re not perfectly round and they don’t sit under a heat lamp.
The room seats maybe 40 people, with booths along one wall and a short counter near the kitchen window. It fills up fast on weekend mornings — fast meaning a 20-to-30-minute wait between about 9 and 11 a.m., sometimes longer in summer. Weekdays before 8:30 are your best bet if you want to walk straight in. There’s usually a local or two at the counter who’s been coming since the place opened, and the staff knows their orders. It has that kind of rhythm.
Service is brisk but not cold. The coffee refills come without asking. If you’re traveling with kids, the pancake options are generous and priced reasonably — nothing on the menu will shock you. I’ve seen whole families here after early-morning fishing charters, and I’ve seen retirees who appear to eat here five days a week. Both groups look equally satisfied when they leave.
One practical note: card readers are now accepted, but during busy rushes, cash moves things along faster. Parking is easy — there’s a small lot right in front and street spaces along the side. Hours run roughly 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., though they can close earlier if they sell out, which does happen on holiday weekends. Calling ahead to check on a Saturday in July isn’t a bad idea.
Myrtle Beach has no shortage of breakfast spots chasing a brand — places with fancy naming conventions and mason jars of house-made jam for $8 a jar. Crocker’s isn’t chasing anything. The menu is short enough to fit on one laminated sheet. The prices are what they were three years ago. The grits are still the grits. That’s a harder thing to pull off consistently than it sounds, and if you’re only in town for a few days, it’s the kind of breakfast that actually sets up the rest of your morning right.
