Newport coffee shop working to stay afloat as community recovers from deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene [Video]

NEWPORT, Tenn. — Around 2 months after Hurricane Helene brought deadly flooding to Newport, putting much of the community underwater, some small businesses are still working to recover.

Melissa Ackerman and Corey Ackerman run Snowbird Mountain Coffee Co., which saw more than a foot of water pour through its doors during Hurricane Helene. While pouring cups of coffee and working to rebuild their business, they are also making connections. They said their result has made the coffee shop a vital part of the recovering community.

“It’s a place where businesses will meet, where students will go to study,” said Melissa. “This shop has been everything we have worked really hard for.”

As the community around it recovers, the coffee shop offered a “pay what you can” approach to coffee. It also said other companies stepped in to help after …