Cape Fear businesses prepare for unofficial last days of summer

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Friday marks the start of Labor Day weekend, and lots of businesses in the Cape Fear are preparing for the last unofficial weekend of summer travel.

According to Triple-A, a record number of people are expected to travel this Labor Day weekend by plane or car, and that’s a 9% increase from last year.

Many of our beach towns like Carolina Beach, are gearing up for an expected wave of visitors.

Some shops along the Carolina Beach Boardwalk have had a busy summer.

Mitchel McDowell manages the Silver Dollar bar and said the increase in foot traffic has been great.

“It’s awesome, I like seeing the local bars getting busier, getting more customers and stuff like that,” McDowell said. “Especially Silver Dollar, Silver Dollars been here since 1957 so its a great bar. And, I love that people are coming to Carolina Beach, its just, its cool to see it grow, just how it is and all the businesses down here start to get more busier and stuff like that.”

There is some good news for your wallet. Triple A said they’ve seen a slight drop in the cost to travel within the US for Labor Day this year compared to last year.