Troubles pile up as St. Armands digs out from under

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, it took only a few days for some businesses on St. Armands Circle to reopen, most of them fortunate enough to be on the second level with critical equipment — such as a kitchen — out of the reach of the storm surge that inundated the key.

Almost all others, though, are starting over almost from scratch, the waist-high high water line evident on most of the buildings around the circle. 

On Friday, the Circle was abuzz with contractors working to restore properties and city and county workers addressing critical infrastructure. Piled up along sidewalks and streets was ruined inventory, fixtures, display cases, dining tables — even a piano — waiting to be collected. During overnight hours, looters had been sorting through the debris looking for anything of value, scattering items that had to be piled up again by the merchants.

It was the saturated debris beginning to smell of rancid seawater and mold that concerned merchants as they attempted to address the widespread damage inside their storefronts. At issue is that FEMA only reimburses local government entities for removal of residential debris, not commercial.

As of Friday morning, the merchants had been on their own.

“The biggest problem we're having now is the city saying it's up to all the stores because FEMA is not going to reimburse commercial properties,” said Jeff Snell, owner of the Carihola store. “We have looters all over. It was piled up nicely until the looters got in, and this is going to get worse unless they (the city) help out.”

By Friday night, it appeared relief may be on the way, particularly with the high probability of Hurricane Milton lashing the Gulf Coast again with hurricane-force winds, creating dangerous flying debris conditions.

On Friday evening, Deputy City Manager Patrick Robinson sent an email to staff imploring them to “think outside the box” and find funds to cover the debris removal cost. 

“I know the exception becomes the rule but I have never seen this level of damage in 24 years, it is not normal,” Robinson wrote. “And I will take it to the commission for a budget amendment without hesitation. It is the right thing to do.”

That solves just one of the problems facing St. Armands Circle merchants. On Friday, jackhammers were working on the patio area of an emptied Columbia Restaurant. Many stores had fans blowing in an attempt to dry the space as owners sorted through damaged goods. Retailers filled with inventory only days prior were dark and empty, many with sheetrock removed up to 3 feet.

Landscaping was ravaged, the grass dead and the scene surreal. But there were glimmers of hope.

Restaurants were open or on the verge, including Shore, Daiquiri Deck, Venezia and Cilantro Grill. Inside Lynches Pub defied the reality just outside its door. The small Irish pub’s floors were cleaned, walls scrubbed and furniture largely intact, thanks to owner Jason Burns’ strategy of using resilient materials. However, most of the kitchen equipment was lost, leaving only the grill to prepare a limited menu of burgers, chips, “and Guinness on tap,” according to Rachel Burns, Jason’s wife and director of communications for the St. Armands Circle Association.

“There are empty spots where we had to throw things out. We knew some equipment wasn't even something that was going to be able to be repaired, so that all got disposed of already,” Rachel Burns said. “There are a couple other pieces that we're still waiting on technicians to come in because maybe we can just get the compressors or the computer chips or something replaced because they're newer pieces of equipment. It's just heartbreaking to know how much money we put into them to then have to put them a dumpster.”

Rachel Burns said as they consider equipment replacement inside the pub, cost and quality will be a factor. 

“Do you really want to pay those prices again for something that could be destroyed in just a couple of months?” she said. “We lost a mainframe computer during the last flood, and we just got that replaced, and then this time we lost 90% of our kitchen equipment. Every time we think we found a way to make it better and less impactful for the next time, Mother Nature has a way of telling us that we were wrong.”

A few doors down at Cariloha, an insurance adjuster had arrived to survey the damage. The store was completely emptied, Snell stating that about 80% of the inventory was lost. He estimated the damage and loss of inventory at about $100,000.

“Everybody sandbagged, everybody prepped. The water came exploding up through our flooring,” Snell said. “That’s how the water came in, so there was no stopping it.”

Snell said he is hoping to be fully recovered and his store open sometime in November, in time for season. “Everybody’s shooting for that right now,” he said,

The potential insult to injury of Hurricane Milton, on its way Wednesday morning, unfortunately, may have an impact on that ambitious goal.