Hurricane Arthur is continuing its path toward North Carolina's Outer Banks. Residents on Hatteras Island are under a mandatory evacuation order. But many other residents and business operators in Dare County are taking a wait-and-see approach to the storm.
Karen Overbey is a manager at the aptly-named Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar in Kill Devil Hills. She says the hurricane hasn't driven their customers away so far.
"We're packed," she says. "Business is great. People seem to be in great spirits. Of course, it is the buzz as you would expect it to be..and we do plan on staying open. We close at 10:30 tonight and as far as my plans personally, I will be here at 8:00 tomorrow morning."
The staff at Awful Arthur's has taken the good-natured ribbing about the name in stride. They say it also helps that the storm -- so far -- has not kept the patrons away. Overbey says they never gave the coincidental name a second thought.
"You know you laugh about it," she said "You see the lineup -- the name lineup -- and you keep going on. I couldn't tell you the last time the first hurricane of the year actually made landfall. September -- far more common."
Right now, Dare County is under a state of emergency, but only Hatteras Island is under a mandatory evacuation. Overbey says the restaurant plans to complete its service tonight. She plans to be back at work early Friday morning.
