THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010495
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940601 LENGTH: NAGS HEAD
As temperatures hovered in the '70s, light winds kicked along the Carolina coast and sunshine fell on a sea of beach blankets, more than 140,000 visitors were on the Outer Banks each day.
{REST} Some restaurateurs and retailers reported sales increases of 10 to 28 percent over last Memorial Day weekend. Hotels from Duck to Hatteras were full Friday through Sunday nights. Even campgrounds had to turn away potential patrons as tourists struggled to find last-minute spots in the sand.
If the summer's kickoff weekend is a measurement of things to come, most merchants said, the 1994 season will be hot.
``I already know we'll beat last year. May has been a very good month. And reservations are coming in fast for the rest of the summer,'' said Chris Markley, general manager of the Sea Oatel-Quality Inn in Nags Head.
``Every day of Memorial weekend was great. The crowd seemed to be relaxed, very hospitable, and glad to be outside,'' Markley said. ``We probably set some records this weekend all around the beach.''
Tourism officials thought so, too.
Although final visitation figures for most attractions were not yet available Tuesday afternoon, tourist officials set the crowd estimate and said weekend visitors met or exceeded those of past Memorial Day holidays.
``All our hotels were at capacity all weekend. Most of the campgrounds were booked by Friday night. Even today, there's still a lot of traffic out there,'' Dare County Tourist Bureau spokesperson Rebecca Moore said Tuesday.
``Some people appear to be staying all week. That, and Memorial Day weekend, are good indicators that the rest of the summer will be great,'' Moore said. ``It was a long, cold winter up north. There's a pent-up desire for travel. And we're warm and sunny down here.''
Most restaurants reported waits of 15 minutes to more than an hour throughout the weekend.
At The Wharf restaurant in Nags Head, owner Randy Culp said up to 150 people at a time waited in line for his seafood buffet each night. La Fogata's, a new Mexican eatery in Kitty Hawk, ran out of rice and chicken at about 9 p.m. Sunday after serving hundreds of customers all weekend. And Goombay's Grille & Raw Bar in Kill Devil Hills sold more than 1,000 beers Saturday night alone.
``We had our record day, our record weekend, our record holiday, our record everything,'' said Goombay's owner John Kirchmier, whose beach road restaurant is beginning its third summer. ``I'd say we were up about 28 percent over last Memorial Day. We served an average of 500 people a day, including the bar. This spring, we averaged about 170 a day total.''
With wonderful weather for surfing, hang-gliding, fishing and other outdoor activities, some retailers worried that vacationers wouldn't come inside to buy. Tuesday morning, however, merchants were tallying their totals - and counting their blessings.
``We were up really, really high this weekend. I'd say about 15 to 20 percent at least over last Memorial Day,'' said Dawn Revels, manager of Bert's Surf Shop in Nags Head, which offered special sales throughout the holiday. ``People really seemed to want T-shirts, shorts, things with the Nags Head logo on them, to take home.
``So far, we've been up in our sales for the past two weeks,'' Revels said. ``If this keeps up, I know we'll break some records.''
Nags Head Hammock Co. owner Susan Sineath echoed such sentiments. Her beach road and bypass stores were crammed full of customers all three days. The cash register was seldom silent.
``Memorial Day was real strong for us sales-wise,'' Sineath said Tuesday. ``And the people seemed happy, too. The weather was so beautiful. The weekend was fantastic. It just put everyone at the beach in a good mood.''
Between Friday and Monday, 16,030 passengers rode the ferry between Hatteras Village and Ocracoke Island - about the same number of people who boarded the free boat last Memorial Day weekend. Almost 4,000 visitors climbed the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse's spiral stairway. And 7,541 tourists stopped in at the Outer Banks' three official welcome centers - a 15 percent increase over last Memorial Day's traffic at the same locations.
``We're very, very pleased with the summer's first official weekend,'' Kirchmier said. ``We expect quite a few more record-breaking days this season. I think it's going to be an unbelievable summer.''
A story May 28 incorrectly identified a hotel worker quoted in a roundup about summer business. Kathy Ross is the night shift manager at the Holiday Inn. Donna Lindsay is the front desk manager.
by CNB