- September 27, 2024
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Storms have often just been part of a year's work for businesses in Siesta Key Village.
"I feel like we're pros at this now," Jacque Slayton, manager of The Hub Baja Grill, had told the Observer Sept. 25, as she put out sandbags and performed the needed precautions.
Yet the scene on Sept. 27 was far more severe than business owners and residents had anticipated.
The storm surge, which was described by County Commissioner Mark Smith as 3 feet in height in the area, left many businesses working to clean up, with repairs and renovations ahead.
Todd Morton, owner of Morton's Siesta Market and its sister stores, summarized the situation.
"I've been here my entire life," he said. "I've never seen the Key get flooded like this. You say storm surge; we know that's going to happen, but covering the entire Key, never we would have thought, in a million years, that would happen."
Katie Spelman, a manager for Above the Bar Hospitality Group, which owns The Hub, described a scene of "devastating loss."
"I've never seen anything like this. It's pretty much as bad as it gets," she said.
She said the restaurant will have to be renovated.
The company also owns several other restaurants in Siesta Key, including The Cottage just next door, which shares a kitchen with The Hub, and The Beach Club across the street.
Spelman said restaurant interiors took on 3 to five 5 of water, and kitchen equipment was found to have tipped over.
"We're missing five picnic tables still," she said, stating she believed the tables, which belonged to The Hub, to be somewhere to the north, carried away by the waves.
However, the repairs are not the only struggle for business owners, with the current lack of consistent phone and internet service in the island, and with power yet to be restored.
Spelman, like Morton, said the absence of power makes it difficult to asses damages, as they cannot tell what equipment is operational.
Ascendia Group, a rental home company, found damage to its properties across the island.
"My husband and I are longtime residents of Sarasota, and we've never seen anything like this," said Beth Dilley, president of the company, who co-founded it with her husband Andy Olwert.
That day, she and the company's staff traveled through Siesta Key to assess damage.
They visited about 15-20 properties, she said, all of which had been flooded with at least two feet of water, and not all of which were located near the water.
"We saw washing machines and dryers turned upside down within the home, we saw furniture moved from one room to another, so when people are trying to understand the force of a storm surge, we got to witness it firsthand today," she said.
The cost of repairs is still being assessed, including new flooring, drywall, paint and furniture, and cleaning and mold remediation, with work starting tomorrow.
In one respect, Morton's Siesta Market fared better than might have been expected.
When Hurricane Irma hit in 2017, it took down all three of the store's locations, said owner Todd Morton said.
"Luckily, this time, our main store stayed operational," Morton said. "We didn't lose power there, so we were able to save a lot of lot of perishables, but at the same time, there's a lot of cleanup to do."
He said FPL estimates 2-3 days before the power is restored, at which point they can sanitize the store and restock items.
However, business owners said the community has been pitching into help.
For instance, at The Hub, Russo's Restaurant Equipment & Supply delivered supplies, while Gold Coast Eagle Distributing brought water and hydrating drinks for those helping clean up the site.
"Seeing people helping each other has been pretty uplifting," said Nick Eposito, maintenance manager at Ascendia Group. "You're driving around and people are asking if you need help, or vice versa."
