Five years since Carolina Beach Boardwalk fire, business owners reflect on growth since

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Five years ago, a fire tore through a longtime arcade on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk, leaving the business in shambles.

Today, things have taken a turn for the better.

A few owners business owners say the boardwalk has come so far, and it’s just a great place to be now.

“You know, we hate that the fire happened, but Carolina Beach managed to turn around and make it a good thing,” Jason Stanely, who owns Go Sauce Yourself, said.

It’s been five years to the day, since part of the Carolina Beach boardwalk went up in flames.

The arcade and several other businesses were forced to start over from scratch, but for some, it was a new beginning.

“They’ve done a lot of clean since then,” Jeanie Shaffer, who owns Latella Gelato, said. “They, at the time, were really promoting building up the boardwalk.”

Jeanie Shaffer and her husband built Latella Gelato from the ground up a few years ago. She says owners on the boardwalk were able to bring it back to life in a new way.

“There are still a lot of things that are very similar,” Shaffer said.

But she says the boardwalk is more than just a summer attraction now.

Stanely agrees. He says it took a few years, but the boardwalk is back and better than before.

“The boardwalk has been much improved. It’s a great place to come during the summer, for sure.”

The summer may be slipping away from us but there were still people taking advantage of the boardwalk, and it looks good as new.