Motts Channel Seafood welcomes customers first time since Florence

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH,NC (WWAY) — Hurricane Florence hit us hard back in September and there are still plenty of remnants of the damage it brought.

Progress is being made though. One Wrightsville Beach business has finally made a full recovery.

Constant reminders of Florence are still all around us, even four months after the storm. The storm hit Motts Channel Seafood in Wrightsville Beach particularly hard.

“We got about two feet of water in the building and a lot of holes in the roof with 30 inches of rain, so it destroyed all the ceilings and walls and insulation,” said Owner Gene Long. “Everything had to be torn down to the studs.”

The long family had to rebuild from the ground or “water” up, and while they were doing that, they had to close for about three and a half months. But finally, the restaurant  reopened Sunday.

Most of the docks have been fixed and the store is ready to welcome customers once again.

“I didn’t realize how popular it was until we closed,” said Long. “They’ve been knocking on the door for three months and calling when we had phones. Evidently it’s a well-liked place, and we’re happy for that.”

The shop, located at 120 Short Street, is open daily 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.