The Shoresides Economic Report features inspiring interviews with local businesses, workers, community developers. It delivers the voices of folks from across the coastal region. We ask questions about how place-based economics can create an economy that works for all of us.
Just as Ocracoke Island businesses were finishing renovations and repairs to infrastructural damage from Hurricane Dorian of 2019, the island shut down. Ocracoke local and Village Craftsman manager Amy Howard explains how her business responds to the impacts of Dorian and now, COVID-19. Produced by Jocelyn Ratti. Music by Chad Crouch. Broadcast from the Shoresides…
Read More
“Our goal is to feed as many people as possible and not leave a carbon footprint.” Ron Simmons, founder of Master Blend Family Farms and 2018 NC Small Farmer of the Year, talks about how he believes in sustainability and feeding his neighbors during hurricane season. Produced by Caroline Bailey. Music by Chad Crouch. Broadcast…
Read More
As tourist season gets going on the Outer Banks, restaurants scramble to balance consumer demand and their own safety. Dylan Ownes is a seasonal cook at an Outer Banks Restaurant called The Bonzer Shack. Ownes speaks about how things are different this summer – more orders, more hours, and fewer staff. Produced by Jocelyn Ratti….
Read More
Jeremy King, a grain farmer from Ash, North Carolina, tells us how COVID-19 has added a level of complexity to farmers’ workflow across the region. King explains the domino affect that labor shortages, increased demand, lower prices, and changing operations have had on farmers, and he says there is concern among farmers about local mills…
Read More
The Outer Banks had a unique opportunity to completely shut off travel during the North Carolina’s statewide shelter-in-place order; only residents were allowed on and off of the islands. While this helped contain the spread of COVID-19, it also affected local businesses. Harvey Hess, general manager of his family-owned restaurant Capt’n Franks, and Christine Davidson,…
Read More
Jennifer Hall and her partner Ron have worked at Pizza Village in Whiteville, North Carolina for 32 years. The two had just taken over the restaurant when restaurants across the state shut down. Hall says they had to make changes – taking orders outside, ordering more paper products, assigning parking spaces to customers “in line”…
Read More
When COVID-19 shut down businesses across North Carolina, Molly Hess’s job became more… complicated. Hess works as a staff accountant and QuickBooks pro advisor at Johnson, Mizelle, Strava, and Murphy in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. She handles the accounting for many local business in the Outer Banks. With the unrolling of PPP loans and Economic…
Read MoreTo receive ongoing updates and notifications on new episodes, please sign up to our Newsletter and we’ll make sure to keep you in the loop!
