Hurricane Helene hasn’t made landfall, but storms in the Upstate have already impacted businesses in downtown Greenville.
Power outages on Tuesday night forced several businesses to close Wednesday. Others closed early Thursday night or canceled evening events in anticipation of severe weather to ensure their staff got home safely.
Sonja Miller, owner of Samantha Grace Designs on Main Street, had to close her store Wednesday because of the power outage. She was able to reopen Thursday but fears that the storm’s impact will force her to close again on Friday.
Samantha Grace Designs is a small business – Miller only has three employees. She said the impact of closing for just one day can be significant.
“It definitely hurts,” Miller said. “Not having sales for a day, even just one day or two, definitely does hurt.”
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But it’s not just the sales loss. Miller is also concerned about potential tornados, heavy winds, and rain. The storm is not at its worst yet, but Miller found a sign from a nearby business that had landed right outside the door of her store this morning.