FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – Multiple Fernandina Beach businesses got a break from the constant downpours of rain on Friday.
Multiple rainy days in a row caused Mayor Bradley Bean to call a local state of emergency for the city because the water was overwhelming the stormwater system.
The city also recommended that downtown businesses consider closing.
“It’s been raining for the last two weeks,” Jenna Thompson, an associate at Cottonways, said.
Thompson said the store planned to close at 6 p.m. through the weekend — four hours earlier than normal.
“We’ve been doing okay,” Thompson said. “Like yesterday, we didn’t have a whole lot of people in here, and it just rained nonstop yesterday, and the day before it was the same way. And today, we’ve seen some more people, but I think that’s because there’s been less rain and that people are like trying to get out before the rain does come.”
Even with the city’s recommendation some downtown businesses have opted to remain open, and they were seeing the the benefits.
Book Loft, a bookstore, saw more customers because of the bad weather.
“We have had a lot of people looking to get out of the rain, and so they come here actually, and they’re really excited that we’re open. They can have a place to take their families,” Manager Kayli Quirk said. “So, we’ve been really fortunate to be a place to come for the families to get out of the weather.”
Quirk said even with the potential for more rain, they’re planning to continue to be a haven for families to get out of the rain.
“We have an author signing tomorrow. Everything is planned and ready to go. We have sandbags in the back from prior hurricanes, so we are safe in that manner, but we don’t think we will have to use our sandbags,” Quirk said.
Even though Cottonways is closing early this weekend, Thompson is looking forward to the customers who stop in.
“When the rain comes and people are just needing to get out, despite how much rain it is, they’re going to come in, they’re going to work with us, and we get to work with them individually. It’s my favorite part of the job. So rain or no rain, we’re open. We’re here. We’re ready for you,” Thompson said.