We Scraped Together $190K for Our Bar—Hurricane Helene Swept It Away
newsweek.comInstagram page as he walked through what was once a functional bar, now filled with water.In a moment of levity, Davie said, "We needed this rain." It was a dumb joke that he probably wouldn't have made if we knew what was coming.
Later that evening, from the safety of our home, we helplessly watched security footage of DayTrip as Hurricane Helene ravaged our business, our livelihood, and one of the few queer-owned spaces in the city.The extent of the damage was not apparent until we received photos from a neighbor who had taken images with a drone from above the building—not only was the water above the second floor, but the roofs of the storage room and the dining room area where we displayed our Pride flag were barely visible.
We knew then the damage was massive.It wasn't until a couple of days later that the water receded low enough for us to return to the bar.
It looked like a tornado hit, and the scene outside the bar wasn't any different—in many ways, it was worse. The hurricane completely wiped out cell service in Western North Carolina.
