‘I think we’ll be alright’: Beach businesses bouncing back after pandemic

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Things are finally looking up for businesses in Wrightsville Beach after not just one long year, but a difficult few years.

“This year has just completely reassured us that like, we’re where we need to be,” Kohl’s Frozen Custard Owner Matthew Smith said.

Smith bought Kohl’s Frozen Custard in the summer of 2018, just months before Hurricane Florence devastated our coast.

“We didn’t open for seven months, we were renovating. 2019 was kind of a miss because all the tourism was down because all the hotels were renovating,” Smith said. “We thought 2020 was going to be a big comeback and that kind of hit us pretty hard.”

A storm no one was prepared to weather, COVID-19 presented a new challenge.

“We didn’t know what to do. There was no experience, no one had that. No one knew how to handle that,” Smith said. “We were all just stumbling around trying to figure out how to navigate constantly changing guidelines, rules, differences, and studies so like we all had to learn from each other.”

Through the hardships, Smith says the businesses on the island and those tucked in the corner of Causeway and South Lumina leaned on one another.

Businesses like South Beach Grill.

“It’s definitely been a challenging year,” Executive Chef Michael Overman said. “We’re still feeling the effects from the foodservice industry in general.”

Fortunately, chefs Jack Hayes and Michael Overman say the holiday signaled things were returning to pre-pandemic numbers.

“Traffic was crazy down here. Crazier than last year. It was really smooth, really busy,” Sous Chef Jack Hayes said.

“We have a saying around here, we’ll look at each other at the end of the summer and say, ‘I think we’ll be alright this summer.’ I’m starting to feel that,” Overman said. “I had a chef tell me one time that you’ll just feel it all kinda click into place and it’s definitely kinda feeling like that.”

Back at Kohl’s, Smith says he finally feels like his business is living up to its potential.

“I haven’t been this busy consistently since I originally bought the place,” Smith said. “It’s a nice change of pace. Reassuring that it still has the potential to do what it should.”

The chefs at South Beach Grill added they appreciate how patient people have been since many businesses are short-staffed. Both businesses say they are grateful for all the support the community and visitors have shown them.