Final numbers aren't in yet, but the Chamber of Commerce estimates the business losses to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
While some businesses along Yadkin Road are cleaning up as quickly as possible, for some owners, the loss is too severe to overcome.
"We lost everything. We're just, we're just trying to go through and see what we can get out of here," explained Brenda Green.
Green used to help James Purdie at James Shoeshine. The business is destroyed. She spent Tuesday salvaging what she could.
"He mostly wanted his clothes, his shoes. Just, whatever he could -his important papers," said Green.
There are several strip malls along Yadkin Road that have been damaged. In one, they lost more than six businesses.
"I'm looking for Kyung's Barber Shop. I mean, when I finally got in to see it, it was gone - demolished," said customer Merle Delancey.
Kyung's shop used to be at 6424 Yadkin Road. It's gone now. Many business were small mom & pop operations with very little or no insurance.
"It was like a bomb had hit us or something," said Harold Boykin.
The shop in which Boykin used to cut hair is gone. But his competition down the road had an open chair, and Boykin is back in business.
"Jason & Jason gave us an opportunity to keep working because, you know, we've got families. By him giving us this chance, we thank them for it. And it's just good that barbers are helping each other out," said Boykin.
And in the coming months, that's what it's going to take to help get the business community back on its feet. Many of the business owners with whom we spoke say they plan to rebuild and open up shop at the same locations.
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