Charleston residents asked to support local businesses after Debby
A city-wide curfew during Debby helped keep people and property safe in Charleston, South Carolina. Now, residents are urged to support local business that closed during the storm.
Transcript
00:00when Debbie made a second landfall in South Carolina.
00:05So we urge everybody to stay inside,
00:08stay indoors and do not travel.
00:11The mayor of Charleston issued a citywide curfew
00:13to keep people off of the roads.
00:16While businesses could technically be open,
00:18many of them stayed closed.
00:20Yeah, we were closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,
00:23which I think was the 5th through the 7th.
00:26There's no reason to be open
00:30when we're putting our team at risk of a minimal injury
00:35or something a little bit more significant
00:36or dire than that, right?
00:38Lyons is with the Neighborhood Restaurant Group,
00:41which operates five restaurants in Charleston.
00:44He says while safety will always come first,
00:47any day they're closed during hurricane season
00:49can affect business.
00:51You know, if we have a one or two hurricane come through
00:55and then anything up from there,
00:57I mean, it can be a significant derailment
01:01for an entire month.
01:03Over 30 hours after the curfew was issued, it was lifted.
01:07You know, we were closed for that one day on Tuesday
01:09and then they lifted the curfew at 7 or 7.30
01:13in the morning on Wednesday
01:14and we were back open for the start of lunch service at 11.
01:17In a statement, Mayor William Cogswell
01:19praised business owners,
01:21saying their efforts during the storm
01:22allowed crews to prepare effectively.
01:25Minimizing flooding, property damage
01:27and the need for rescues.
01:29Cogswell followed by asking residents
01:31to support three local businesses.
01:33When we're able to reopen,
01:34when people support local businesses,
01:36they help us make up for lost revenue as a restaurant,
01:39but it also directly helps our employees
01:41and the families that they support at home.
01:43The decision, an example to all communities
01:45to put safety first during hurricane season.
01:48It was important for us
01:49to follow those emergency guidelines.
01:52It gave us ample opportunity to secure the premises,
01:55take necessary precautions,
01:57which can reduce the extent of damage
01:59and facilitate a quicker recovery.
02:01For AccuWeather, I'm Emmy Victor.