Four names crop up when restaurateur John Andrews chronicles the quarter-century history of South Beach Grill: Elaine – his wife and South Beach co-owner – along with Bertha, Fran and Florence. 
 
The last three are, of course, hurricanes.
 
“Elaine and I had relocated here in 1993; we came down on vacation and, like a lot of people, fell in love with Wilmington,” he said, adding that when a promised restaurant job fell through after the couple moved, he found an opportunity with Atlantic Quest Corp., which owned Bluewater Waterfront Grill, Eddie Romanelli’s and Oceanic.
 
“I became the general manager of Oceanic,” Andrews continued. “In 1996, Hurricane Bertha, and then Hurricane Fran a month later, devastated Wrightsville Beach. Oceanic had to close indefinitely.”
 
But in the storm’s aftermath came opportunity. Andrews was approached by another person who would greatly influence his hospitality career: John Royster. Royster was an angel investor who had acquired a defunct restaurant property at 100 S. Lumina Ave. and was looking for someone to transform it.
 
“There had been a series of four or five restaurants in that space; none had more than a season or two of staying power,” Andrews said. “Both John Royster and I saw the property as extraordinarily valuable if it was done properly. We decided to open a breakfast and lunch restaurant, and in April 1997 we opened the doors.”
 
Most people assume that the new eatery’s name, South Beach, was an allusion to Miami’s South Beach, but its reference was much more local, Andrews said.
 
“At that time, the south end of Wrightsville Beach was home to smaller family cottages and rentals for college students. The north end had higher-end homes. We wanted to become the neighborhood grill and hangout for people on the south end.”  
 
South Beach Grill’s stint as a breakfast restaurant was short-lived, according to Andrews.
“At the time, we had two very strong breakfast players at Wrightsville Beach: Middle of the Island and Causeway Café. We saw quickly we had to cede the breakfast trade to them, and become a lunch and dinner restaurant,” Andrews said. “We have enjoyed great success since, probably through being of service to the community and serving the local population. We have vibrant off-season support from the locals that we have nurtured over the years. Landfall and other surrounding communities have also been very supportive.”
 
That strong patronage base was an essential factor in enabling South Beach Grill to weather the damage from Hurricane Florence, which pummeled Wrightsville Beach in early September 2018.
 
“Our roof collapsed, so we had water damage and mold. The restaurant shut down for five months to remediate the mold,” Andrews said. “We basically had to rebuild the restaurant; we were down to the studs in the walls. Elaine is a financial genius. Were it not for her savvy in dealing with insurance and vendors, we would not have survived those five months.”
 
When South Beach Grill was up and running again in early 2019, the couple was “very optimistic about the investment of time and treasure” they had made to revive their business, he said. 
 
But new challenges were to come.
 
“Fast-forward to March 2020,” he said. “I call it ‘the day that will live in infamy.’”
 
Planning for a large St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the restaurant had just taken a huge order of food when, at 2 p.m., Andrews received the governor’s order to close down immediately because of COVID-19. It was a blow, made even sharper given the hurricane-related obstacles from Hurricane Florence that South Beach Grill had recently overcome. But, rather than “sit and wallow,” as Andrews put it, he and his wife decided to confront the challenge aggressively.
 
“We became the poster child for creating a COVID-safe environment,” he said. “We found a virus-killing additive for our HVAC system. We hired a professional company to sanitize the restaurant, using a cutting-edge product shown to be an effective treatment for COVID-like viruses. People found that being able to eat outside on our patio was comforting. They understood the risk was so much less.”
 
Elaine Andrews again used her finance skills to secure a Paycheck Protection Loan for the restaurant.
 
“COVID had shut us down except for carryout service,” Andrews said. “We were having to let people go, but when Elaine was able to get us a PPP loan, we decided it was time to give back to the community. We held an Easter to-go breakfast fundraiser. We served over 460 brunches, with people making appointments to drive up and get their food. From the proceeds, we donated over $4,000 to all the churches on Wrightsville Beach. 
 
It was something we felt we had a calling to do, and it was so rewarding to hand all the pastors, the ministers, the priests a check, when we knew their collection plates were empty. Our team looks on that event as one of our proudest moments.”

In building and sustaining a successful business for 25 years, he and his team “never relied on our view,” Andrews said with a laugh, a reference to South Beach Grill’s chock-a-block position near one of Wrightsville Beach’s busiest intersections.

Instead, he said the restaurant’s enduring appeal reflects the loyalty and stability of his five-person management team and their commitment to service in the community. “We have assembled a team of hospitality professionals and they have allowed us to look great in front of our guests,” he added.

The restaurant supports the island’s faith community and Surfers Healing, an organization that offers surfing lessons to children with autism. John Andrews is active with the N.C. Holiday Flotilla and has served on its board. John and Elaine Andrews also devote some of their time to preparing the next generation of small business owners and hospitality professionals. She is an adjunct faculty member at University of North Carolina Wilmington, teaching accounting to undergraduates.

“She brings the perspective of a small business owner, and students flock to her classes,” Andrews said. “I teach hospitality management at Cape Fear [Community College], and here’s what I tell my students, and this is something they have come to embrace: I do think if you work for a company you believe in, and their mission, their virtues and how they approach their community, you work for more than just a dollar.”