EMERALD ISLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Labor Day has come and gone, which means for many of us, summer is over.

In Emerald Isle, not only were the beaches packed, but also the businesses.

“We had great tourists that came to the island this weekend. It was packed full of wonderful people enjoying the sunshine and shopping,” said Evelyn Davis, the owner of Brigg’s General Store and Bar. 

She said the store had to make a large order this week due to items being sold out or low stock. Right next door, Rucker Johns’ Julian Johns said they were slammed, too.

“There was definitely that feel it was kind of like the final hurrah,” said Johns, who is the business manager of the restaurant. “Schools are going back, summer is kind of winding down, so it was definitely a lot of excitement. People are just happy to be out enjoying it, you know, one last long weekend of the summer.”

Johns added it’s been hard keeping staff with workers heading back to school.

“The last couple weeks were a bit of a challenge, staffing-wise, keeping up with, you know, summer isn’t over, we still have that business and kind of having those holes,” said Johns. 

Despite that, they’ve been getting new hires trained quickly to finish out the summer and head into fall.

“I still see people online asking for rentals. The weather’s picture perfect,” said Davis. “It doesn’t get any prettier than September/October on Emerald Isle, so I’m hoping for a great fall.”

Burger Boy is a new restaurant that opened on the island this summer. The restaurant said they’re expecting to slow down when the tourist season ends, but are working to keep the locals coming back.

“Hours will probably adjust a little bit so we’re gonna bring breakfast in and gonna start doing DoorDash so definitely got a couple of things in the works, so we’re excited,” said manager Hannah Owens. 

All of the businesses add that they hope next summer turns out just as successful as this one.