They survived Irene.

The business leaders of Little Shoppes of Washington reopened their store Jan. 20.

Jayne Meisell and Rebecca Clark, the driving forces behind the business, had to move the remainder of the Little Shoppes and Charisma Boutique to a Market Street storefront after Hurricane Irene rolled the roof off the Little Shoppes building on Aug. 27, 2011.

The resulting flood from above ruined thousands of dollars in merchandise and resulted in the temporary condemnation of the building at 127 W. Main St.

But the Market Street move was temporary, clearing the way for the return of the store.

Now, after months of rebuilding, the shops — an assemblage of 21 vendors including antiques dealers, knickknacks peddlers and more — are back in business.

“Everyone’s starting to find us again and they’re real excited,” said Garleen Woolard, who manages Little Shoppes. “They’re just ecstatic about how beautiful the building has turned out.”

“They’re surprised at how much bigger it looks,” Meisell added.

The building is owned by Will Mayo, she said.

“He was fabulous,” Meisell said. “Within weeks he had everything lined up (for the renovation).”

The renovation was done by Stocks and Taylor Construction of Washington, they said.

Three booths within the store were still vacant as of Tuesday, along with several wall-space areas for artists to sell their work. Booth rentals run from $200 to $300 per month, while wall spaces go for $75, Woolard related.

For more information, call the shops at 252-833-4967 or visit the website, www.littleshoppesofwashington.com.

The Little Shoppes are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, according to their Facebook page.

If you’d like to nominate a Beaufort County-based business for BizLine, call 252-946-2144, ext. 230, or email jonathan.clayborne@thewashingtondailynews.com.