The Myrtle Beach Area Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Coastal Carolina University is sponsoring a Restaurant Business Development Conference on Wednesday, March 12. Registration is open for restaurant owners, managers and people who want to start a restaurant business registration. The deadline is March 9.

The conference from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. will provide information on the following topics: How to buy or sell a restaurant, financing your restaurant, franchising facts, restaurant best practices (from area experts), new DHEC regulations, designing a marketing plan, QuickBooks for restaurants, insurance, the Affordable Care Act and getting your business online.

A panel of restaurant experts will also be available to answer questions from the audience. They include David McMillan, chair of the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association and owner of Drunken Jack's Restaurant; Cathey Petkash, FranNet franchise specialist; Paul E. Peeples, senior vice president of South Atlantic Bank; and Samuel H. Plexico, CPA at Carolina Insurance Group LLC.

The conference will be held in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at 199 Chanticleer Drive E. on the Conway campus.

Registration for the conference is $99 for up to three people in the same group.

To download detailed conference information and to register, visit www.coastal.edu/sbdc/restaurantconf.html. Breakfast and light snacks are included with registration. Call 843-349-4010, 843-347-6914, or 843-349-5070 if you have any questions.