Storm Troopers

After pummeling Haiti, The Bahamas, and the east cost of Florida, Hurricane Matthew huffed and he puffed but was relatively kind to the Lowcountry other than knocking out power to more than 750,000 homes in South Carolina, flooding in some areas, beach erosion, and toppling several trees.
In West Ashley there were surely some scary moments as strong winds rattled trees, causing some minor damage. A particularly irradic and unpredictable storm, Matthew went from a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean to a Category 1 by the time it brushed by Charleston. So much of the stress came in the days leading up to Matthew’s South Carolina debut as folks packed gas stations to fill their tanks and wiped out the bread isle at the local grocery stores in anticipation of what could have been a lot worse.
But many residents decided to stay despite a mandatory evacuation order and some businesses even kept their doors open as long as they could before boarding them up and writing sometimes defiant and/or comical messages on the plywood. Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge in Avondale had a not so subtle message for the Hurricane: “F.U. Matthew” was written in black spray paint. Across Savannah Highway at Lava Salon, a more ominous but appropriate passage from the gospel of Matthew odorned the plywood on its windows: “But even the HAIRS on your HEAD are all numbered — Matthew 10:30”
Just down the street the Coburg Cow, West Ashley’s most endearing landmark, took cover. The cow was removed and taken to a safe location to ride out the storm.
The biggest damage came after Matthew left for many local businesses that were left without power for days and struggled to reopen for whatever customers were left and as evacuees slowly trickled back into town. Many used the threat as a mini-vacation, heading upstate or to the mountains and parlayed the evacuation with an already scheduled three-day weekend courtesy of Columbus Day. But for those in the food and beverage industry Matthew’s timing wasn’t great as it killed much of their weekend business.
Like many places, The Roost Bar & Grille on Savannah Highway did not have power restored until late on Sunday, which impacted their usual busy Saturday college football and Sunday’s NFL business. Next door, Gene’s Haufbau had to cancel its annual Oktoberfest, which is typically a hugely popular event for Charleston’s oldest continuously running bar. Neighboring Triangle Char & Bar had to postpone the Avondale 5K, which they put on every year, as a result of the threatening storm
Michael Bessinger of the venerable West Ashley restaurant Bessinger’s Barbecue was concerned he could lose upwards of $25,000 in product without power. Luckily, his freezers held up better than he expected without power and the losses, while significant, were thankfully much less than he had originally feared.
Jason Vaughn, who along with his wife Lindsey  Collier, own the Taco Spot on Ashley River Road, said his business definitely took a hit being closed Thursdsay through Sunday.
On the flipside, once the power was restored the restaurants that could reopen quickly saw a huge amount of business flood through its doors. Those who stuck out the storm, many of whom had cabin fever but still did not have power at their house, came out in droves. According to Jamie Perillo, manager at Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ on Ashley River Road, the restaurant had record sales, literally selling out of all of their meat on Sunday. dd Peckers’ Wing Shack on Savannah Highway was also packed. Co-owner Derek Harris handed out menus with items crossed off that they didn’t have. What they did have available and could serve pretty much sold out.
It’s been 27 years since Hugo. Long enoug ago that many in West Ashley either were too young to remember, weren’t born yet, or simply didn’t live here then. For those that were here, they will never forgot what happened. And this week as power and cable come back, branches are cleaned up, and roofs are repaired, Matthew may soon be a memory for some. But it was also a sobering reminder of just what could happen living along the coast during hurricane season.