Popular Chapel Hill eatery The Loop reopens after extensive storm damage from tropical depression

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Loop is back and officially open for business. The popular restaurant within Chapel Hill's Eastgate Crossing had been shuttered since July as a result of flooding damage from Tropical Depression Chantal.

The restaurant reopened its doors to guests on Jan. 27 and has seen a steady stream of business since. However, reopening took longer than expected because repairs took longer than anticipated.

"Most of us thought it was going to be like three or four months max," said manager Hendrix Prescott. "Nothing longer than that."

Instead, it took six months for diners to return to enjoying the American eatery.

"I'm delighted that it's open. We all missed that for sure," said diner Charlotte Hines. "We kept circling (the parking lot) to see, and we're just delighted it's back."

Though Eastgate Crossing is prone to flooding from severe weather, Chantal proved to be a unique challenge based on the damage inside The Loop.

"It was just like a mess," Prescott said. "Everything was all over the place. The hallways and stuff back there were full of appliances and dishes and everything. You could barely walk through here."

Prescott said some employees did not take second jobs while the restaurant remained closed. And neither did he.

On his first shift back to work, he said he questioned his efficacy in managing orders and staff.

"It's been a little bit of an adjustment. But once people started coming in, I think everyone got into the flow of working again really quickly," said Prescott. "I know I did quicker than I thought. I thought I was going to be really terrible after six months of not doing it."

For some, the reopening is a chance to return to their normal routine as well.

"If you look around, you see there's a lot of people that were ready to get back in here. It's a pretty big staple. It's a good place," said diner Jalen Enrique. "Lunchtime is a good place to be here. A lot of people are excited to have them open back up, and they renovated a little bit."