60-year-old family store left in ruins after Hurricane Florence
After the remnants of Hurricane Florence poured down on
Now, almost two months since the storm, the long brick-and-wood building that used to hold the store's jams, honeys, candies, shirts, souvenirs and more sits unused, still with a crumbled and bowing foundation, a large dip in one end of the floor and a pronounced bend in the building where it has settled into the hole.
When
"I didn't know what was going to happen," he said. "I didn't know it was going to be this bad."
Their insurance company,
For the Graggs, it's been a heavy blow to their livelihood,
"It was devastating -- this is our whole life," she said, tears welling in her eyes.
The couple have owned the store for eight years but have owned similar general stores in the area their entire careers -- it's a family business passed down from
Kay and
see store/page a5
next door and owns the building. Seeing her 58-year-old store crumbling and dealing with the insurance company have been stressful, she said.
When she got a letter informing her that insurance would not pay to fix the building or to replace it, she called her agent. He suggested she reach out to friends and family for help.
"But I don't beg," Goins said in a quiet but firm tone. "I work."
The cost to make the building's foundation solid again would be
"We're locally owned -- we don't have anything to fall back on," she said.
"We're one of the quaintest stores. There aren't that many around like us anymore," she said.
Goins and the Graggs plan to fight for coverage to build a new building, which is the cheapest option,
Brower said State Farm is open to hearing from customers if they do not agree with a decision on a claim and may review any additional information they provide.
Until then, the Graggs were forced to convert an area of a covered outdoors space to an area for the goods that used to be sold in the now-crumbling building. They added plywood walls to close in an area behind the counter to protect jams, honey, candy and souvenirs out of the elements. The space is drastically smaller than the building was, but it was the best option,
"We just tried to get the good stuff out," she said. "We had to just keep going."
Reporter
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