08/05/2026
We love this community!
If you ask almost any local where to eat in Pawleys Island, SC , the name Frank’s is likely to come up first. Behind that enduring favorite stands Salters McClary, the man who took a historic community landmark and turned it into one of the most beloved restaurants on the Hammock Coast. Today we celebrate a longtime resident whose vision and steady presence have given the island a true gathering place for nearly four decades.
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In the late 1970s Salters McClary was a high school student working summers at Marlow’s Supermarket. He bagged groceries, stocked shelves, and pumped gas for Frank Marlow. The store itself had been a central part of island life for decades. Opened by Harry Marlow in the 1940s and later run by his son Frank, it was the place where people bought groceries, caught up on news, and used the only public phone in the area. Through those summer jobs Salters became good friends with the Marlow family.
After college he returned to the area and worked in management at the nearby DeBordieu Club. He had married Elizabeth, known to many as Woofie. When Frank Marlow reached retirement age, Salters approached him with an idea. He wanted to lease the old supermarket building and open a restaurant. Frank agreed. On August first 1988 the doors opened to Frank’s Restaurant, named in honor of the man who had run the store for so many years.
Salters and Elizabeth created a warm, welcoming space that quickly became a favorite. In 1992 they expanded by taking over the house behind the restaurant where Frank Marlow’s mother had lived. That space became Frank’s Outback, adding a more casual outdoor setting under the live oaks. Together the two dining areas offered something for different moods while keeping the same spirit of good food and genuine hospitality.
Salters has said that the best advice always comes firsthand and that locals know where to eat. For more than thirty five years Frank’s has lived up to that reputation. It remains a place where people meet, celebrate, and return again and again. Longtime staff members have become part of the extended family, and the restaurant continues to feel like a true community hub.
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Salters and Elizabeth McClary still own and care for the restaurants. Their approach has always focused on delicious food, attentive service, and an inviting atmosphere. The success has been shared with the next generation as well. Their daughter and son in law later opened a related restaurant in Georgetown that carries forward the Frank’s name and spirit.
What began as a high school job and a friendship with the Marlow family grew into one of the most enduring local businesses on the island. Salters McClary did not simply open a restaurant. He preserved a piece of Pawleys Island history and gave it new life as a place where people still gather, talk, and feel at home.
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Thank you, Salters McClary, for the years of hard work, for honoring the Marlow legacy, and for creating a restaurant that has become part of the daily rhythm of this community. Your commitment has helped keep a sense of place alive for both longtime residents and visitors who return year after year.
