HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Of course, it wasn’t just homes and businesses destroyed by last weekend’s tornadoes. In Hendersonville, Anchor High Marina on Old Hickory Lake took a direct hit.
“Pretty much all of our docks are damaged,” said Mitch Miller, owner of Anchor High Marina. “That’s D row in the back. It completely collapsed. That’s C row. It’s broken in half.”
Several boats in slips at the marina met a similar fate.
“We had a few of them sank out on A row. A lot of scratches, dents, bangs, but they hung in there pretty good,” he said.
Miller is now worried about the storm after the storm. As they rebuild the marina, all of their slip owners will likely go elsewhere. He’s just hoping they’ll eventually come back.
“We’ve got close to 200 boats, and we’re going to lose all of them to other marinas,” said Miller. “Some of these families have been with us 15-16 years, so they’re pretty upset to leave.”
Remarkably, despite being just feet from other damaged docks, the marina’s restaurant called The Rudder, weathered the storm. The only loss — all the food they had to throw out because of electrical outages.
“It was at least $4,000 of losses,” said Steven Amos, head chef at The Rudder.
While the food couldn’t be saved, it is what protected their staff and customers Saturday night when the storm hit.
“There was a good amount of customers, a lot of employees. I was just running around yelling at people like: ‘Come inside. We’ve got to hide away,'” said Amos. “We all went into the beer coolers and the walk-in coolers.”
But now it’s the customers that The Rudder will need to save them, especially now that their normal winter tenants will no longer be here.
“We survive on them throughout the winter time,” said Amos. “Hopefully we can get people out here and keep us going.”
It is astounding that a storm that lasts only minutes can force a recovery that lingers far longer.
“It’s going to be a big rebuild,” said Miller.
But Miller says he’s confident the operation will stay afloat.
“We’ll be fine, we’re going to make it,” Miller declared.
The Rudder is open Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.
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Read More: Anchor High Marina damaged by tornadoes. Owner is hopeful boaters will eventually return
