Some Siesta Key restaurants reopen after Hurricane Milton

The streets of Siesta Key Village may have been relatively desolate on Oct. 14. 

Many businesses and residents of the island continue to struggle with the impacts of the devastating storm surge of Hurricane Helene, which wrought significant destruction on homes and on some of the island's iconic local businesses.

After Hurricane Milton followed only two weeks later, however, some businesses were nonetheless opening their doors, with the clinking of glasses or the smell of food to be found at some sites. 

Restaurants begin to reopen

As Café Gabbiano prepared to open its doors the afternoon of Oct. 15, manager Kris Pierce hoped the public would turn out. 

"Hopefully this weekend, we'll start to see more people start to trickle in," he said.

The restaurant, which is located in an elevated plaza, saw few impacts during both storms, managing to mostly escape Helene's surge. 

Milton brought what he described as more wind-related damage, with downed trees, some damage to the roof, and some damage to the patio roof which is being repaired. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

He said the windows were boarded, which prevented damage to the interior, while fortunately, the roof of the restaurant had just been replaced. 

Nonetheless, both storms saw the spoilage of food, something that required extensive cleaning before staff put the restaurant in order on Oct. 13. 

Pierce describes the restaurant as offering "the best Italian in Sarasota." 

Its head chef, Paolo Di Costanzo, comes from Italy, while all pastas are made in-house. It also offers over 200 wine bottles. 

Courtesy image

However, even if the public begins to turn out, it's still a difficult time of year for businesses on Siesta Key. 

"Unfortunately, this time of year is already slow, so when a storm like this comes through, it just kills whatever other business we might have, so it is definitely a struggle," Pierce said.

He said after Helene, the restaurant benefited from Performance Food Group donating product for staff, including hot dogs and buns, and cases of water. 

Next week, he hopes Café Gabbiano can offer something to the community by hosting a free barbecue for lineworkers. His friends will be offering their barbecue smokers, while Sysco, one of the restaurant's distributors, agreed to donate food. 

The restaurant is also extending its 30% employee discount to all restaurant workers in the community. 

"I know a lot of the restaurant workers out here are struggling," he said. "That's 90% of business out here."

At The Blasé Café & Martini Bar and its joint establishment Pi Pizza, the public was already turning out to enjoy drinks and escape from the concerns of the storm aftermath. 

General manager William Dunn said while the location is only open for drinks right now, he expected it to have a full kitchen the next day, Oct. 15. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

At that point, he was occupied with helping another manager, Rebecca Jackson, string lights on the newly-built deck at the martini bar.

"The locals need somewhere to drink. The linemen need somewhere to drink after work," he said. 

Although Milton created some holes in the tiki hut and removed some shingles, he said the site was nonetheless well prepared, with all liquor and beer stored at an elevated location and all tables moved inside. 

"The last storm was worse for us. We had water up in the building. We lost some coolers, lost some kitchen equipment," he said. 

He noted all food was lost in both storms, which was a substantial expense. 

"Mozzarella isn't cheap," he said, noting the restaurants spend "probably" about $2,000 a week on mozzarella, while about four cases of chicken wings, each $120, had to also be discarded. 

He hopes the opening will "get some music going, boost people's spirits and help the community out."

That night, the public had the chance to enjoy martinis, followed by live music from 7-10 p.m., an experience the location plans to offer every night.

"We want to get our musicians back up and working again," he said.

Photo by Ian Swaby

As other businesses rebuild following the impacts of Helene, there is still hope in sight. 

Lobster Pot in Siesta Key Village had to tear out drywall after Hurricane Helene, but its owners, Kathy and Glen Medeiros, say they hope to be open in six to eight weeks.

Fortunately, their home on Siesta Key has a living area elevated above the water-damaged portion of the house.

Also fortunately, they suffered few impacts from Milton, the worst part of the storm being the debris it left behind.

Referring to Milton, Glen Medeiros said, "We actually fared pretty good."