Frank Boulineau III took the reins of his father鈥檚 business straight out of high school.
鈥淢y father never worked much after I was out of high school, really. My father was actually burned seriously bad when he was young. He wasn鈥檛 even supposed to live,鈥 Boulineau III recalled while sitting in his office about six decades after his 1965 high school graduation.
鈥淗e was burned in 1922. In 1922, things like penicillin didn鈥檛 exist,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y father had a lot of skin grafts in his life, a lot of medical situations. So when I was 16 years old in high school, my father kind of gave me an option to go to college if I wanted to or stay and run the business because he wasn鈥檛 able to run it much anymore. I decided to stay and run the business, and the rest is kind of history, I guess.鈥
Now, the award-winning Boulineau鈥檚 Foods Plus grocery store is just one link in a chain of successful businesses that can鈥檛 be missed in the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach.
A community, family affair
On the second-floor corner dining room of the Boulineau鈥檚 grocery store sits a group of six women playing cards. It鈥檚 a weekly tradition.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful store. Everything is here,鈥 said Linda Strait, a regular player. 鈥淧lus, they allow us to stay here and play, that鈥檚 amazing.鈥
A group of women play hand, knee, foot at the second-floor dining room of Boulineau鈥檚 Foods Plus in Cherry Grove on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
The group, which started as a bible study, plays the card game 鈥渉and, knee, foot鈥 at the store every Tuesday, getting lunch as an intermission and usually grabbing groceries on the way out.
鈥淓verybody is just so friendly here,鈥 said Diane Downie. 鈥淎ll the cashiers, all the people that work in the store, you don鈥檛 hesitate to go ask them. Hey, where鈥檚 this? Oh, aisle six halfway down, want me to show you? Everybody is just so nice, it makes you feel comfortable.鈥
One of those employees is Gwen Stevenson, front end manager of Boulineau鈥檚. She鈥檚 been here 鈥渁 skinny minute,鈥 she said.
What鈥檚 a skinny minute?
鈥41 years,鈥 she said.
She said she loves working with customers and has stayed with Boulineau鈥檚 for so long because of the 鈥渇amily oriented community鈥 at the store. She said it鈥檚 more than just a job for her and that Frank Boulineau III and his wife Elizabeth, who run the company together, care about what鈥檚 going on in the lives of their employees.
鈥淭hey make you feel like a part of the family,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a part of Boulineau鈥檚. You鈥檙e important being here. They let you know that you鈥檙e important to the company and how you treat the customers makes them feel like they鈥檙e a part of our family also and keep them coming back. So we care about each other and what鈥檚 going on in each other鈥檚 lives.鈥
Boulineau III鈥檚 dedication to North Myrtle Beach can be realized not just by his entrepreneurial contributions, but by his community involvement.
Each year, the business hosts a beach cleanup on Cherry Grove. Boulineau III is past chairman of the McLeod Health Foundation, Connie Maxwell Children鈥檚 Ministries and North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. He鈥檚 a deacon at First Baptist Church of North Myrtle Beach. His grandson is now the fifth Boulineau to be a member of the church.
North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley said his community involvement doesn鈥檛 go unnoticed.
鈥淔rank Boulineau III is a true pillar of our community whose entrepreneurial spirit and dedication have left an indelible mark on North Myrtle Beach,鈥 Hatley said. 鈥淭hrough his vision and leadership, he transformed Boulineau鈥檚 into a beloved landmark that serves not only as a hub for locals and visitors but also as a testament to the values of hard work, community, and service.鈥
The next generation of the Boulineau family has also stepped in to work at the business. Frank Boulineau IV worked in the food service division of the grocery store before he died at age 42 in 2016. And other relatives have also chipped in to help the business succeed.
鈥淲e have a daughter who works here and a grandson who works here, too,鈥 Boulineau III said.
The Boulineau name lives on with Frank Boulineau V, but he won't be stepping in super soon for 78-year-old Boulineau III. He鈥檚 only 10.
Expanding by adding
Boulineau III was working at his father鈥檚 humble Cherry Grove grocer for years as a kid. He even remembers working at the original store, which opened in 1948, before Hurricane Hazel hit, packing sugar from 50-pound sacks into smaller bags to sell to customers. The 1954 Category 4 hurricane swept the building down to its foundation 鈥 along with almost everything else in Cherry Grove.
鈥淗urricane Hazel pretty well broke him. He lost his business, lost his house and everything he had pretty much from Hurricane Hazel,鈥 Boulineau III said. 鈥淎nd in 1954, there was no FEMA and no flood insurance and those types of things to help him. So he just built back from the ground and started over again.鈥
It took a few years for Boulineau Jr. to resurrect Boulineau鈥檚. The new grocery store was a little larger, but still humble. The town of Cherry Grove Beach had just 208 residents in 1960, according to the U.S. Census. In 1968, Cherry Grove Beach, Crescent Beach, Ocean Drive Beach and Windy Hill Beach joined together to form the city of North Myrtle Beach.
As North Myrtle Beach grew, Boulineau鈥檚 grew with it. Not just expanding in size, but by branching into different sections of retail and adding more storefronts.
鈥淚n the late '60s and '70s, we started expanding the business by adding businesses,鈥 Boulineau III said.
In 1969, Frank III and his wife Elizabeth opened a second grocery store, Coastal Mart. In 1975, a seafood restaurant and laundromat were added under the Boulineau鈥檚 umbrella. A gift shop opened in 1977. In the mid-90s, a gas station and hardware store. The Boulineau鈥檚 chain, jointly run by Frank III and Elizabeth, now includes a grocery store, post office, hardware shop, seafood restaurant, two gas stations, a clothing shop, gift shop and ice cream parlor.
Frank Boulineau III helps an employee behind the deli counter at Boulineau鈥檚 Foods Plus Tuesday, March 25, 2025. The store has a wide grocery selection including a seafood counter, fresh produce and a bakery, but also offers shoes, jewelry and clothing on the second floor.
Driving down Sea Mountain Highway into the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach, Boulineau鈥檚 entrepreneurial efforts are hard, if not impossible, to miss.
鈥淗is name has become synonymous with Cherry Grove for good reason鈥攈is commitment to the area has enriched the lives of many and helped shape the identity of our coastal community,鈥 Hatley said. 鈥淲e are grateful for his contributions and the legacy he continues to build.鈥
Throughout Boulineau III鈥檚 decades of leadership, the anchor grocery store grew and grew. Located at 212 Sea Mountain Highway, Boulineau鈥檚 Foods Plus has gone through a litany of expansions, now a two-story, 80,000 square foot grocery store with 鈥淏uddy鈥檚 deli,鈥 鈥淏etsy鈥檚 Bakery,鈥 鈥淔rank鈥檚 Seafood,鈥 a meat department and 鈥淓lizabeth鈥檚 Kitchen鈥 hot bar serving fried chicken and other southern favorites for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Take one of the two glass elevators to the second floor and you鈥檒l find a shoe store, jewelry store, gift and greeting cards section and even meeting room space.
Customers line up for lunch from Elizabeth鈥檚 Kitchen聽as the store owner, Frank Boulineau III, looks on at Boulineau鈥檚 Foods Plus in Cherry Grove Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
And it鈥檚 racked up the awards.
The store is part of Independent Grocers Alliance, or IGA, and has been recognized as a Five Star store multiple times, including in 2024. Of the thousands of stores evaluated, only 鈥渁 handful鈥 are recognized as Five Star IGA stores, Boulineau III said.
CEO John Ross said in a press release that Boulineau鈥檚 provides a 鈥渢op-tier, customer-focused, local shopping experience鈥 and has provided 鈥渆xceptional dedication to their community.鈥
鈥淭he award is basically the highest award that IGA gives away each year, and we鈥檝e actually won it for the last number of years,鈥 Boulineau III said. 鈥淲e have a very unique IGA store. We do a lot of unique things and so forth. Very involved in the community. So it鈥檚 quite an honor and we appreciate it very much.鈥
Boulineau III said he credits his store鈥檚 success to hard work by both he and his wife, having very good employees and taking care of the employees as well as the community.
(3) comments
We live here in Cherry Grove and Boulineau鈥檚 is our favorite place, grocery store general store all in one! It鈥檚 one of the most unique places you鈥檒l ever visit.
The Family has Truly been a Blessing!
Thanks for spotlighting this wonderful locally owned and operated business. When I relocated to NMB some years ago, a wandering drive took me to Boulineau's and I was won over by the store's offerings and the team that make it fun to shop.
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