S H O R T S H O R T S
17
BUSINESSES OPEN AT WRIGHTSVILLE DAWN OF A GREAT SUMMER
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
DRIVE all the way
south on Wrights-
ville and go
through the
turn-around at the end of Jack
Parker Boulevard and you will
see construction repairs still
underway, plus new houses
where others once stood.
Life on this beach this spring
has slowly edged closer to nor-mal
and yet, north, south, and
west of us, there are so many
working through the negatives
of the storm’s wrath.
There is no question the eye
of the storm passed directly
over this inhabited barrier
island; some like South End Surf
Shop owner Jeff Degroot, who
remained on the beach during
the storm, believe the southern
eyewall came across the busi-nesses
on the south end.
Regardless, at Wrightsville,
all but one of the businesses
that were going to
reopen have
done so.
Surf Suites,
the south
end oceanfront
condo-tel, is not yet
open, but working toward
that goal.
To the north, the Oceanic
sustained some pretty major
water damage that required
taking the interior down to the
studs, but it turned the damage
into a positive to create a whole
new and more open floor plan
and are now open.
Across the street, Sunday’s
Café and South End Surf Shop
were only knocked out by
the loss of the roof and HVAC
units, and reopened quickly.
Behind them, because of the
damage, rental property was
condemned.
The Blockade Runner, Holiday
Inn and Shell Island
Resort might
not be 100
percent,
but you won’t
know it as they fin-ish
up minor repairs or
opportunities to improve.
The home of shark’s teeth
jewelry and coffee, Audrey’s
Workshop, is back open.
Hallelu women’s clothing and
accessories boutique is as well.
South Beach Grill held a March
21 ribbon-cutting on its redone
eatery to a packed house.
Topsail Steamer, opened just
last year in the Landing, is going
strong. A new bean and bowl
eatery, Zekes, has opened next
door on the Causeway.
All the other eateries are
open for business including
Adapt Kitchen and Juice Bar
opened last year inside of
Roberts Market.
The town mourned the
loss of Causeway Café, but
the Gulfstream Restaurant,
a staple on the breakfast,
lunch and dinner scene
at Carolina Beach for four
decades, will open its
Wrightsville Beach location
by early June.
Nearby Motts Channel
Seafood is open and busy.
Smoothie and juice bar
SurfBerry is cookin’.
The three other surf shops
— Surf City, Aussie Island and
Sweetwater — are open and
well stocked, as is Redix.
The best way to encourage
each of the town’s businesses
large and small is with your
financial patronage. Every
single business on Wrightsville
survived a really tough fall
and winter to emerge glori-ously
this spring.
— WBM Staff
PHOTOS BY ALLISON POTTER