WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One of hundreds of businesses left impacted by Hurricane Helene is finding a new home in the Cape Fear.
The Honeybee Cafe is owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo Ted Caudle and Jessica Haugan.
The couple was forced to relocate their mobile coffee truck after the KOA Campground in Swannanoa—where they lived and worked—was left ravaged by Helene.
“Every structure on the property was demolished. I believe there’s one pump house for the pool that survived. Everything else was destroyed,” Caudle said.
Caudle was able to find work at another KOA Campground in Wilmington, and the couple now sells coffee at the Biggers Market on Market Street on Saturdays.
Caudle says the response from the Wilmington community has been incredible.
“People will come to use just with a word of affirmation, even if they’re not getting our coffee, they’ll come by and they’ll just say ‘hey, we’re praying for you, we’re thinking about you, wishing you good luck, good fortune in the future,’ and that just speaks to the community,” he said.
For those hoping to help western NC, Caudle recommends volunteering or donating to the Cajun Navy, which he says was instrumental with the recovery effort on the ground.
Though, Caudle says, the help that did come from the state level hasn’t come fast enough.
“Writing to your state legislature. You know, North Carolina could do better in my opinion, having lived it, North Carolina could have done better,” he expressed.
The NC General Assembly recently passed the controversial bill SB 382, which includes—among many other things—Hurricane Helene relief funding. Though, lawmakers have still not decided on how it will be used or distributed.
Caudle says those communities need all they help they can get.
