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Wrightsville Beach businesses slowly reopening as summer tourism season nears

This week marks six months since Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, and New Hanover County experienced some of the worst damage. While many homeowners in the hard hit areas are still working to make repairs, but businesses have started re-opening their doors.

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By
Amanda Lamb
, WRAL reporter
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. — This week marks six months since Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, and New Hanover County experienced some of the worst damage.

Many homeowners in the hard hit areas are still working to make repairs, but businesses have started re-opening their doors.

One hotel in Wrightsville Beach is poised to reopen and welcome travelers back in.

"Come on in (and) welcome back," said John Andrews to customers recently.

He can barely contain his excitement as he greets returning customers to South Beach Grill, his newly repaired and remodeled restaurant that opened for business again on Feb. 20 some five months after the storm.

"We saw a hardship as an opportunity and we've tried to make the best of what we were given," Andrews said.

The storm ripped the roof off of the restaurant Andrews and his wife have owned and run for 22 years. Rain poured in for five days, meaning it was a moldy mess. But insurance money and sweat equity allowed them to put the pieces back together.

"We did have a lot of family and friends helping us out," Andrews said. "My son came down from Raleigh every weekend."

Some residents were worried that the storm's ferocity would negatively impact business in the area.

"We're a service economy and we're a tourist destination and those visuals on TV did not play well," said Beth Schrader, who is part of New Hanover County's effort to recover from the monster storm.

She said she wants to help visitors see beyond pictures of storm damage.

"We are really trying to let people know that we are open for business (and) that we are a tourist destination (and) that we are recovering," Schrader said. "We are a great place to come and (are) encouraging them to come on back."

"We want to put a big welcome mat at the front of that bridge and when they come over they will experience the type of hospitality we've become known for here on the coast," said XXXX

Said Dara Newberry, the general manager of Shell Island: "A lot of our return customers are eager to get back to us (and) they don't care if there's still work going on." 

Crews worked around the clock to get landmark Wrightsville Beach hotels that were damaged in the storm -- like the blockade runner and Shell Island, reopened.

"We have 169 units at Shell Island and we did experience water intrusion in almost 150 of them," Newberry said. "Things are looking great."

Schrader said: "We're really pleased, we've been embraced again by our loyal friends in the community."

Business owners say they hope the tourists will return once summer does so people can get back what Florence took away.

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