‘Sun shining and everything’: How Myrtle Beach businesses look following Hurricane Isaias

Hurricane Isaias ravaged parts of the Grand Strand on Monday night, damaging Sea Cabins Pier and leaving parts of Cherry Grove in North Myrtle Beach flooded. But business returned as usual Tuesday afternoon in Myrtle Beach after the Category 1 storm.

Heavy flooding was reported Monday night in various spots along the Grand Strand, along with hurricane-force wind and strong storm surge.

As Isaias moved northeast away from Myrtle Beach, the sun returned to the area. By Tuesday afternoon, beaches were full of sunbathers, swimmers and surfers, and many businesses along the boardwalk opened at their normal time Tuesday after cleaning up debris and clearing out sand that had washed up near the storefronts.

Robbie McMakin, an employee at Boardwalk Coffee House, said the clean-up efforts took less than an hour and the shop was open by 8 a.m.

“I got here at 7 this morning and it was sun shining and everything,” he said.

McMakin said the coffee house and surrounding restaurants prepared for the storm by taking in furniture that would have blown away or been damaged in high winds.

Ocean Boulevard saw some flooding from the storm, and crews worked to clean any leftover debris Tuesday morning.

“It was like a river out there from the beach to Ocean Boulevard,” nearby McAdoo’s owner Claudio Ovideo said Tuesday morning.

But by Tuesday afternoon, you would hardly know a storm came through the night before.

DJ and Jasmine E., who were in town from Charlotte, North Carolina, were enjoying the boardwalk with their two toddlers Tuesday afternoon. With most of the flooding gone and no significant damage, the family was glad to have their vacation back.

“I saw some debris when I was out driving this morning, but other than that not much,” DJ said.

Myrtle Beach public information director Mark Kruea said the city fared well after Isaias, noting he’s not aware of any significant property damage and that the beach looks to be in pretty good shape.

“In two weeks (barring another storm), you won’t know we had this one,” Kruea wrote in an email to The Sun News.

Family Kingdom Amusement Park saw flooding severe enough to close the facility temporarily, according to a post on Facebook from the business. Kruea said flooding like this is because the hurricane hit at high tide.

SweeTreats manager Amalia Rodriguez said the shop closed at 4:30 p.m. Monday instead of the usual midnight, but the business was able to open on time Tuesday and clean up in less than 30 minutes.

“We didn’t see anything, we didn’t even close the shutters,” she said.

Down the boardwalk at Moe Moon’s, general manager Steve Gidella said the restaurant also closed early, but if it had a private parking lot, he would have chosen to stay open.

“When it pours down rain, solid pours down rain, nobody’s gonna be out on the boardwalk,” he said.

He cleaned up some small debris this morning and said city employees blew sand off the sidewalk, but there was “nothing anybody would even trip over.”

Anna Young and Alex Lang contributed to this report.