Two months after fire, Seawitch bar set for grand reopening

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — After an alleged arsonist forced the Seawitch Café to close months ago, the Carolina Beach bar is back open. It’s celebrating a grand reopening tonight.

The alleged arson happened the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend. The Seawitch’s manager says it was terrible timing for business.

The fire broke out just before 4 a.m. A police officer driving by saw the flames coming out of the restaurant and called it in. The owners immediately pegged the incident as arson. Robert Foltz of Carolina Beach was arrested two days after the fire and charged with setting the fire. According to Seawitch management, he was a customer for a few weeks before the incident.

Now, the bar has been rebuilt. Crews were putting final touches on today. The manager says the timing of the incident posed some problems.

“Great result. Horrible timing,” manager Michael Selawski said. “If this would have happened in April, February it would have been a lot better, but two days before Memorial Day not ideal, but the end result does look really good.”

We asked Selawski about the suspect and where the case stands. He said he couldn’t talk about it because of on-going legal issues.

Months after the charges, Foltz is still in the New Hanover County Jail under a $300,000 bond. During the arrest process, Foltz was also found to be an unregistered sex offender. He also faces charges connected to that.

The folks at the Seawitch Café Tiki Bar are scheduled to cut the ribbon on the repairs and renovations at 5:30 p.m.