Conway bakery feeding National Guard troops stationed in SC ahead of Hurricane Ian

As winds from Hurricane Ian’s outer bands swirled down Conway’s Main Street on Sept. 30, the usually busy corridor that links Horry County’s seat to Myrtle Beach was eerily quiet.

Traffic lights stayed on their normal patterns, but it was silent enough that gusts caught up in plastic jack-o-lanterns strung through tree canopies could be heard whistling through them.

Storefronts were closed, save for a burst of light coming from The Trestle Bakery and Cafe, which was running on limited hours in the morning.”

Owner Marsha Taylor and her staff got up in the predawn hours to prepare boxed meals for about 20 National Guard troops stationed around the state.

“Since we had to make pastries and stuff for them, we decided to stay open for a little bit,” she said. “Everybody can come here and get them a doughnut.”

At 9:30 a.m., The Trestle had served three tables. On a typical morning, it would cleared about 20 by that time.

The city of almost 25,000 is under a local state of emergency as Ian ambles its way across South Carolina.

Phil Hendrick, Conway’s emergency management director, told the city council that damage assessment likely won’t begin until Saturday.

“We certainly expect to have the same impacts here locally that are anticipated at the state and county level,” city manager Adam Emrick said. “Our concern at this point is wind primarily and secondarily to that, potential for flooding.”

A skeleton crew of city workers was on the job Friday, including a duo from public works whose pickup up truck was filling up with jack-o-lanterns flung from their treetop posts.

Papa’s General Store, located across the street from Taylor’s shop, had a flier letting shoppers know it was staying closed until 10 a.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published September 30, 2022 at 10:20 AM.