- October 23, 2024
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Many Siesta Key businesses are reopening — and the customers are beginning to turn out as well.
On Oct. 21, scattered visitors eager to support the local establishments could be found strolling the island's streets.
Among them were North Port residents Sherry Lecorchick and Fred and Susan Galzerano.
They were hoping to stop at Siesta Key Oyster Bar, a restaurant that was bustling with activity that day, and perhaps take a look at t-shirt shops as well.
Kris Pierce, manager at Café Gabbiano, wrote the Observer that following the restaurant's opening on Oct. 15, it saw a busy weekend with "good turnout."
At the same time, other businesses have reopened such as Gilligan's Island Bar & Grill, Beach Bazaar, Daiquiri Deck and The Blasé Café & Martini Bar.
Above the Bar Hospitality Group suffered damage to some of its restaurants during Hurricane Helene, but has seen some progress.
"I don't know when normal will be, but we're starting to see a lot of debris getting picked up," said Katie Spelman, a manager with the company. "The county's working hard. People are working hard. People are offering their time to come help us. Staff members are offering their time. Things are getting done."
The company's open restaurants include Beach Club Siesta Key, Siesta Poke and My Village Pub.
Summer House was briefly open and relatively busy, but had to shut down following an electrical issue caused by the storm.
She said when it comes to The Hub Baja Grill and The Cottage, there is no definite timeline for reopening.
However, she noted the community has stepped up to help.
On social media that morning, The Hub had posted an image of several small tikis it owned and had been using as decor. The public could come and claim them by providing donations.
The effort raised $1,440, all of which will go toward supporting the restaurant's staff who are out of work.
"We're just trying to work as hard as we can every day, to get the staff back to work," she said. "That's our number one priority. The quicker we can open, the quicker we will."
However, one of the challenges for businesses is the lack of residents currently on the island.
"We're almost up on on all cylinders with the store," said Todd Morton, owner of Morton's Siesta Market, noting the store is still hoping for more customers.
He said it appears the challenge will be ongoing.
Indeed, many Siesta Key homes were seriously damaged, and others were lost entirely.
"The beach is empty," said Zach Hupp, who owns a condominium in Midnight Cove. "There's probably 100 people at Public Beach, where there's usually 1000s."
Morton also said tourism will need to return before business resumes.
"Really, until the rentals are actually rentable, we're not going to see it, and we just have a lot more to do to make to make it the vacation spot it used to be," he said.
Right now, the store is awaiting the replacement of equipment so it can open all of its departments, although he calls its current focus "heavy on the deli, light on the groceries."
Like Spelman, he also said the community has been stepping up to help.
"It's really nice to see our neighbors and colleagues getting opened back up," he said. "That's a big part of our business as well too, and the faster we can get back to normal and work together on that, it's going to help out everybody on the Key."
Among those eager to support local businesses, were the visitors such as Colleen Riordan and Tom Krzyski of Canada.
Riordan said with their first visit 20 years ago, the couple had fallen in love with the island, including "the beaches, the vibe, the fact that there's no franchises here."
"It's Ma and Pa," he said.
The couple kept in touch with the island's businesses during the time of hurricanes Helene and Milton, from a cruise ship.
After making the determination that enough businesses were open, they decided to visit.
Krzyski said they had heard that business was very slow during the summer, stating that "the owners are hurting and then, of course, they didn't need this disaster."
"We figured we want to get the benefit of the businesses in the future, and we don't want them to go out of business, so therefore, support them now in their time of need, support the businesses, support the community," said Krzyski.
Riordan said she was pleased to see the community taking shape, with the Siesta Key Farmer's Market even being held on the weekend.
"It's amazing how quickly they and efficiently they are cleaning up," she said. "We took pictures on Saturday when we first got here, and I cannot believe the difference already."
Elit Shroyar, who works as a bartender at Beach Club Siesta Key, said she hopes people aren't deterred by the news of destruction in Siesta Key.
"I feel like there's so much media about how everything's destroyed, but there's honestly a lot of progress, and I think a lot of people are scared to come here because they think nothing's open, but the businesses need people to come in," she said.
