LIKE many in Proserpine, John Collins was forced to shut shop for two weeks after Cyclone Debbie battered the town.

But now, the Division 3 councillor and owner of Downtown Butchery has bounced back, opening his store despite having faced significant damage not only there but also at his home.

"The (store) received a fair bit of water damage inside but it's all good," he said, with his usual upbeat demeanour.

"(And) my house received the usual stuff, like fences and trees down and substantial damage to the ceiling."

Mr Collins said power to the shop was not restored until the Thursday two weeks after the cyclone had hit and it was on the Friday when he and his staff were finally able to clean the premises from top to bottom.

"It was all during Easter which is our busiest time of year," he said.

"We had four days of trading before Easter when usually the two weeks before are our busiest."

But the terrible events did not dampen Mr Collins' spirits with his witty humour still shining through.

The morning after Debbie departed, Mr Collins received a phone call from his neighbour wanting to check up on his home.

"I said (to my neighbour) 'Well, I've got good news and I've got bad news'," he said.

"The good news is I have a new shed. The bad news is it's yours."

Mr Collins said there was one message he wanted to spread across the entire Whitsunday region and that was to "just hang in there".

"It's not going to happen overnight but we'll come back strong. The town has a lot of positive vibes and it's been through this before," he said.

"We've got to urge local people and businesses to support each other. It's essential across the whole region to get past this."