Charleston residents asked to support local businesses after Debby

AccuWeather

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.

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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.

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