Swansboro experienced a power outage early this morning, leaving residents and visitors wondering if their favorite businesses would be open through Tropical Storm Debby.
Yana’s Restaurant is a ’50s-themed joint dishing up burgers, shakes and their famous fruit fritters for locals and tourists alike. Yana’s employee, Diana, said they got the day off to a bumpy start, with a power outage in the morning, but things are looking up.
“Earlier, I mean driving in, the roads, there was a lot of standing water, you had to be really careful as you were riding through it, that kind of stuff. We normally open at 7:00, and we opened at, um, 9:30, so power’s back on at 8:50, so, wasn’t bad."
Before grabbing breakfast at Yana’s, Swansboro resident, Monica, said the weather sounded pretty scary.
“So, this morning the wind came in, it started late last night. You know, 9:00/10:00 o’clock, you could hear it wailing through the town. And then this morning, probably about 2:00 and then probably about 4:00, there were like bands of just, it almost sounded like a freight train coming through town, and then the rain would come.”
She said she feels lucky the storm hasn’t brought flooding.
“I mean when Florence came through, the whole downtown, I mean it was water up to the middle of the road here, so it’s not as bad.”
Another business toughing out the storm is Poor Man’s Hole. The antique store sits just off the water on Front Street in downtown Swansboro. Its owner, Joe Rhue said his store is staying open to the public after the power outage earlier in the day.
“Everything’s going as planned, we’ve been very fortunate, I’ve been very fortunate with Hurricane Debby. Just a lot of water and a lot of wind, but not any damage at all that I’m aware of.
Residents and businesses are hoping the worst of Debby has passed.