Bobby grew up spending his summers on the island and wanted to create a place where visitors wouldn’t need to leave town to find something special. The shop thrives on feedback from locals, ensuring it carries the products they want and need, while tourism drives the seasonal rhythm. Summer foot traffic sustains the business, while winter is supported by the loyalty of year-round residents — the ones who stop in and say, “I could order this online, but I’d rather buy it from you.”

For Bobby, tourism and community are inseparable. Visitors fall in love with Emerald Isle just like locals once did, and their spending helps keep local businesses strong all year long. At the same time, the community’s support in the off-season ensures shops like Waterway Local remain part of the town’s fabric.

“We were all tourists at some point,” Bobby reflects. “The foot traffic from visitors drives the economy in peak and off seasons. We grow, we might change, but we do it the right way — and that’s why people fall in love with this place.”