Main Street Hyannis, Surrounding Area Loses Power For Hours Following 'Elsa'
HYANNIS (CBS) - They say bad things happen in threes, and for a busy Cape tourist season, that cliché couldn't be more true. First there was a rainy, cold Memorial Day Weekend, followed by a rainy, cold July 4th weekend, followed by Tropical Storm Elsa coming through.
"It's just another curveball thrown at you," Greater Hyannis Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Marty Bruemmel told WBZ. "Believe it or not the Cape is very resilient."
As Elsa tore through parts of the state on Friday, it knocked over trees and debris along the Cape. Then, just as the storm cleared and the sun began to peek through, the power went out in Hyannis.
"Today we were like slamming busy at 1:30, had a wait for an hour and then the power goes out and then we are dead in the water," said British Beer Company manager Eddie Reid.
Most restaurants closed temporarily, with staff sitting around waiting for the lights and refrigerators to come on. Some gift shops were able to stay open -- but accepted only cash -- since their credit card machines couldn't work.
"We customize everything in our shop," explained one gift store owner. "So when the press machine is off, you can't work."
Luckily, a Friday night fiasco was rescued when the power came back around 6 PM, four hours after it shut off. That -- paired with the warm weather that peeked through -- gave businesses hope for a better weekend ahead.
"It has definitely been a challenge," Marty Bruemmel said. "It has never stopped. Just a whole book is being rewritten on how to operate a business these days on Cape Cod."
