Women's Clothing Boutique Near Me Garner, NC

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A confirmed EF-1 tornado hit Garner around midday Sunday, causing some significant damage.

Trees were toppled, power lines were knocked down and roofs were damaged by wind. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado had wind speeds of up to 110 mph and traveled a path of 1.5 miles.

Residents who have lived in Garner for more than 30 years -- living through hurricanes and countless severe storms -- said they've never seen anything as bad as the tornado Sunday.

"We've never seen anything like it, not in my neighborhood anyways. We're just happy everyone's OK," Jon Pitt said.

SEE ALSO | 2023 sees most tornado deaths in America since 2011

Pitt's home was damaged in the storm. He, like many others, spent Sunday afternoon trying to clean up debris and repair damages on their property.

The Town of Garner said Public Works will continue to help with clearing affected areas in The Woodlands neighborhood Monday.

We've never seen anything like it.Jon Pitt

Thankfully, the storm did not cause any loss of life or any serious injuries.

"I was blessed to get out of there, God is good. You know, so I'm good. All this can be replaced, all this can be cleaned up. So I'm good," Arthur Becton said.

Photos of storm damage

"We are thankful that there were no reported injuries as a result of Sunday's storm, which appears to have included a brief tornado touchdown in the area of The Woodlands neighborhood," the Town said in a release.

ABC11's Anthony Wilson found a large tree limb that the wind picked up and impaled into the front side of a business in Garner near the intersection of Timber Drive and Woodland Road.

More damage happened on Spring Drive in front of Garner High School.

Over in Raleigh, the NC State women's basketball game versus Liberty was delayed when heavy rains began leaking onto the court at Reynolds Stadium. The game resumed after about a 20-minute pause.

The storms came on the heels of a beautiful Saturday. A cold front pushed through Sunday morning bringing a line of storms across central NC.

The North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival was closed due to the severe weather.

The main concern overnight Sunday is for gusty winds and street flooding.

After the storms push through, you can expect clear skies and colder temperatures. Monday morning will be 30 degrees cooler than Sunday morning, and that seasonable chill is expected to remain at least through next week--with highs next week to be in the 50s and lows around freezing.

WATCH FULL FIRST ALERT FORECAST

A new kind of Chubby’s is set to debut in an unexpected spot.

The popular Triangle taco brand is opening a new location this spring, building its latest restaurant inside a Walmart Supercenter in Johnston County. Chubby’s will open the new restaurant in the Walmart at 5141 N.C. 42 in Garner, near the intersection with Interstate 40.

Chubby’s first opened in 2007 in Durham and grew to five locations in the Triangle. After a couple locations closed, Chubby’s parent company Kairos LLC filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

Owner Rudy Theale and a group of investors took over the brand and its two Triangle restaurants in 2021. Theale is a longtime Triangle restaurant owner, previously operating Smash Waffles and Pizza La Stella in Raleigh. The jump into Chubby’s, Theale said, was a life-time love of Mexican food.

“Chubby’s, frankly, is just an awesome brand, I found that out as a customer and had an opportunity to get involved,” Theale said in a phone interview. “We saw this as an opportunity to bring authentic, real-style Mexican street food to the masses....There’s no better place to bring something to the masses than Walmart stores.”

The Garner Chubby’s will also serve alcohol, a rarity for restaurants in Walmart stores, Theale said. That appears to be one piece in a larger shift for the restaurant offerings inside the retail giant.

For decades, Walmart has partnered with fast-food franchises inside its stores, most famously McDonald’s and Subway. More recently, Walmart has added fast-casual options, like Houston-based poke bar Uncle Sharkii, according to a story in Food & Wine.

The Garner Chubby’s will serve the same menu diners will recognize from the Durham and Raleigh restaurants, Theale said, including the popular salsa bar.

“The food is so good, we didn’t want to change the recipes,” Theale said of menu considerations two years ago. “We caucused customers and took their input on what they wanted to see.”

Based on that input, Theale said Chubby’s revived the taqueria’s guaca-tillo salsa, a blend of guacamole and tomatillo, and brought back a chile relleno taco. Responding to trends, Chubby’s has added birria tacos and a Mexican pizza, where the crust is made of crispy griddled cheese.

On the beverage side, Theale said Chubby’s now tries to embody a coastal Florida dive bar, serving beer, frozen and on-the-rocks margaritas and other beachy cocktails.

“As somebody who’s lived in Florida, it’s meant to feel like you’re in Key Largo, stopping at the local pub,” Theale said. “Those influences are absolute fun.”

The new Chubby’s is currently under construction and is eyeing a mid-March opening, Theale said.

Coming out of the brand’s prior bankruptcy and restaurant closings, Theale said he aimed to initially focus on its successful locations in Raleigh’s Lake Boone shopping center and Durham’s Woodcroft shopping center. Building off of that core, Theale said Chubby’s is now set to expand, offering a casual dining experience that takes its food seriously.

“We’re taking the dive bar appeal and bringing it to the masses, baby!” Theale said. “We call it the reverse mullet. We’re party in the front and business in the back. It’s important that not just the food feels right, but that the environment feels right.”

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This story was originally published January 29, 2024, 3:50 PM.

The Pulse

A federal court has signed off on a $1 million settlement agreement between residents of Indian Creek Mobile Home Park in Garner and the property’s owner, Riverstone Communities LLC. The settlement stems from a class action challenge to a “rent-to-own” scheme perpetuated Riverstone Communities.

As part of the settlement, Riverstone Communities agreed to pay $1,020,000 and to provide significant non-monetary benefits to class members, the NC Justice Center and the National Consumer Law Center said in a joint statement. Riverstone also agreed to provide new leases to the residents and begin making necessary repairs to the homes.

The Justice Center and Consumer Law Center represented residents in Irma Rodriguez and Ethel Dolores Lawson v. Riverstone Communities, LLC, et al.

The lawsuit challenged Riverstone’s business model, which treated the park residents as “purchasers” when it came to the park owner’s obligation to make repairs to the mobile homes but as “tenants” when they wished to evict the residents without providing proper notice or other protections afforded by law.

Justice Center senior attorney Kate Woomer-Deters called the settlement a “great victory for our clients.”

“The settlement holds Riverstone accountable for what we believe are serious violations of North Carolina consumer and landlord-tenant laws,” Woomer-Deters said in a statement. “A home is a major investment, and consumers deserve accurate and complete information about their home and their contract terms before entering into these types of transactions.”

The lawsuit alleged that Riverstone’s contracts violated North Carolina’s “Contracts for Deed” statute by failing to provide adequate information about the homes and by failing to provide residents the mandated 30-day grace period to catch up on missed payments. It also alleged that residents were charged improper fees.

Shennan Kavanagh, director of litigation at the National Consumer Law Center, the settlement agreement puts mobile “park owners on notice that they have to conform to laws designed to protect mobile home park residents.”

“Manufactured housing is an important option for low- and moderate-income families during a housing affordability crisis,” Kavanagh said. “For this option to be truly affordable, however, residents must be treated fairly and legally.”

The court action was filed in October 2021 by the Justice Center and the Consumer Law Center. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina gave preliminary approval to the settlement in October 2023.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is tackling traffic congestion in south Garner, Wake County, with a project to widen NC-50 to four lanes.

This significant improvement will include a new bridge over Swift Creek, sidewalks, and a dedicated bike path.

The project will focus on the stretch of NC-50 south of Rand Road and extending past Buffaloe Road. This area has seen significant growth, including a new VA clinic nearing completion, which is expected to add nearly 1,000 vehicles daily.

Local business owner Larry Estes says it’s only going to get harder and harder to get out of their driveway after a long, hard day of work. That’s why he says they need the state to come through with this project.

“The traffic here is really bad. It bottlenecks right here in front of us. The stoplight here at rand road tends to bottle neck,” Estes said.

For the past 27 years, Estes has watched as traffic in the area has increased since moving his shop to this location.

“There’s just more and more people and the building is not slowing down. South of here and all around us, it’s exploding,” Estes said.

In the middle of the day, it’s not so bad, but If there’s an accident on 40, drivers generally use NC50 as a detour. That creates a slower ride to work for Estes.

“Sometimes it takes an hour and a half because the traffic is backed up,” Estes said.

The DOT’s plan to relieve some of the congestion in this area makes this stretch a four-lane highway. The work includes a new bridge over Swift Creek for the extra lanes, as well as sidewalks and a bike path.

“We’re trying to accommodate as many upgrades as possible to really help everyone. Whether you’re riding your bike, whether you’re walking or whether you’re driving, you can do it safely,” Estes said.

Kim Deaner with DOT says funding for the nearly $15 million project is secured, and construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, strategically coinciding with the completion of the new VA clinic.

That alone could add nearly a thousand cars a day on this stretch of road.

“It’s one of the fastest growing areas, that garner area. Basically, I think we’re going to hit it before it gets too much worse,” Estes said.

Estes says plans for a project like this have been talked about in the past, but they have never happened.

NCDOT assures residents that this project is a definite go, aiming to address traffic issues before they become even more severe.

The EF-1 tornado touched down in the Woodlands community- bringing down trees, scattering a path of debris, and damaging dozens of homes.

GARNER, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cleanup efforts in Garner continued on Monday, a day after a powerful, EF-1 tornado touched down in the Woodlands community.

The storm downed trees, leaving a trail of debris, and damaging dozens of homes. ABC11 Eyewitness News reconnected with some homeowners still hard at work 24 hours after the storm, who expressed gratitude for the immediate action taken by community members and neighbors.

"It was so hard to comprehend, but at the same time it was like there was a feeling of relief because as soon as I came outside, there were people on the street asking me if I was OK and offering help. Like, not even 30 seconds after the tornado occurred," said Griffin Stanley, whose home and car were damaged by a massive downed tree on his property.

Stanley is one of the countless homeowners dealing with the fallout from the storm. Still, he's grateful things aren't worse -- for his neighbors who have helped along the way.

"The community in Garner is like no other," Stanley said. "They've always been bound together. And this is just another -- this is just more proof of that."

One day later, progress is being made. Town officials say all roads are back open Monday, damaged traffic lights are back up and running -- and power outages have been mostly resolved. Most importantly, no injuries or deaths have been reported. Across the street from Griffin, Pablo Sanchez and his wife are thankful the fallout wasn't worse. Their home was mostly spared but their backyard is a mess, and their shed was destroyed.

"We were honestly really grateful," Sanchez said. "Like, what's in there -- our bikes, a lawnmower? Like everything's replaceable. We're just very grateful that nothing happened to the house or us."

Pablo said he knows there's still much to be done.

"People were working until like 10 p.m., then this morning really early," he said. "The city came in, they were picking up debris and stuff so I think it's going to be like that, like all week or something."

Other community members are trying to help with that. Brian Edwards has lived in Garner for 10 years and is the Store Manager of Lowe's on U.S. 70, just a couple miles from where the tornado touched down.

"We found a bunch of homeowners out just trying to get things cleared up. So we immediately went back to the store and started donating everything we could to get them some help," Edwards said.

In total, Edwards donated thousands of dollars in chainsaws, chains, fuel, rakes and more. He says the all-hands effort to get the neighborhood back upright after the storm is what living in Garner is all about.

"No matter what's going on in the world, when something bad like this happens, people get together and they start doing the right thing to make sure that everyone's taken care of," Edwards said. "And they did it here without us. They were working hard and putting in the effort and we just wanted to do the little part that we could."