"It's been a dark 20 months," said Tom Halladay, the owner of Fae Nectar, a Celtic eatery and entertainment venue that sits next to Lake Lure. Business owners across Lake Lure and Chimney Rock faced many uncertainties after the devastation of Helene.
The main economic driver, the lake itself, was drained for Helene debris removal.
Lake Lure Mayor Carol Pritchett says revenue has been down 50% and that not having tourists has been devastating for business owners.
"I'm not sure people could have gone through another season without revenues," Pritchett said.
But 20 months after Helene, Nick Sottile, the owner of Chimney Rock Smokehouse, says the area has now reached the light at the end of a dark tunnel.
"We're finally there, but there's many lights," Sottile said.
The lights he's describing are the various milestones in Lake Lure and Chimney Rock's recovery, like the reopening of Chimney Rock State Park and the reopening of U.S. 64.
Now the lake has reopened.
"Now with the lake, it's kind of that icing on the cake for us," Sottile said.
A sentiment shared by Halladay.
"The grass is growing back, the lake is clean and beautiful, the roads are reopening," Halladay said.
Fae Nectar happened to host their monthly Renaissance Festival on the same day as the lake reopening.
Across the lake, Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure hosted the grand reopening of its beach, which was destroyed by Helene.
"It's an amazing feeling to have a beach back that you hadn't seen since September 26th, 2024," said Jeff Geisler, the General Manager of Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure.
At the Grand Reopening, we talked to Lake Lure Resident Eunike Stenersen, who says the destruction from Helene took away a summer staple for her family and many others.
"It is so nice to see that it's finally coming back," Stenersen said.
Mayor Pritchett tells us the celebrations are far from over.
The town will celebrate the lake's reopening next Saturday with food, games and fireworks.