The Oceanic reopens to rave reviews
A New Lease of Life
BY PAT BRADFORD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALLISON POTTER
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LIFE on Wrightsville Beach has edged closer to
normal, yet some are still dealing with the
damage from this past September’s Hurricane
Florence.
Oceanic Restaurant at Crystal Pier sustained major water
damage that required taking the interior down to the studs,
but the business turned the setback into a positive, renovating
to create a whole new look and more open floor plan with
greater views of the ocean and strand.
“It was a total loss. There was no way they were going
(to quickly reopen). There was a hole in the roof; the rain
came in and came in. They tried to salvage things but they
couldn’t,” says Nicole Massimino-Cook, interior designer for
the renovation.
The restaurant was closed for more than six months.
“It was the shortest, fastest renovation in my life,” she says.
Following the storm and damage assessment, the owners
faced big decisions.
“The family sat down and we discussed it. They could
have just put back what they had, but they didn’t,” says L&M
Restaurants director of opperations Shang Skipper. L&M is
the operator of Oceanic Restaurant.
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WBM july 2019