Sarasota businesses along the coast begin reopening after Hurricanes Helene, Milton

Businesses begin to reopen

Kimberly Kuizon reports

SARASOTA, Fla. - Many businesses have been shut down for more than a week following Hurricane Milton. Many first dealt with power outages, and then they needed time to clean up the damage.

While some are still closed, others are beginning to reopen, including New Pass Grill and Bait Shop. It's where customers can smell the grill fired up before even walking up to the restaurant.

"The staff has been here awhile. We’ve had the same manager for a while. They really pulled together to even get it to this point," said Jonathan Sisler, a co-owner of New Pass Grill and Bait Shop. "Where we can at least get the restaurant open and serve some food, because there aren’t many places that are."

READ: Florida parents welcome 'miracle baby' born during Hurricane Milton's landfall

New Pass Grill has stood the test of time since 1929 off City Island, but Hurricanes Helene and Milton dealt them and other businesses their biggest blow.

"It’s such a gem of a place here. This whole area," said Janean Sisler, a co-owner of the restaurant. "Our hearts are hurting for St. Armands, Siesta and just getting anything open for people to have some normalcy would be great."

There’s still work to be done, but progress is being made quickly. Staff started cleaning up the moment they were let back onto City Island after the storms.

"We wanted to get them back to work, and they know our customers better than anyone else. We wanted to make sure our customers came in and saw familiar faces, and we got them back," said Ted Langan, a co-owner of New Pass Grill.

MORE: Sarasota mobile home community destroyed in Hurricane Milton: 'I wanted to cry'

Just a short drive away, The Siesta Key Oyster Bar welcomed its first customers back on Thursday.

"We didn’t know what we are going to come back to, and we are just so thankful for having the place up and running and having our staff have our backs," said Samantha Lemer, the general manager of Siesta Key Oyster Bar.

The inside of the restaurant flooded during Helene, and there are still a few more weeks worth of repairs to do. Staff worked day and night to reopen their outside dining.

"They’re the heart of the place," said Kristin Hale, the director of operations at Siesta Key Oyster Bar. "Between the back of the house and the front of the house. They are the heart of the restaurant, and we couldn’t do it without them."

READ: Mote Marine assesses damage after back-to-back hurricanes, loss of two otters

Around the village and other coastal parts of the area, other businesses are reopening. They are showing the strength of Floridians is much stronger than the storms that came our way.

"We are the village. It’s one of the busiest places in the area of Sarasota. The village is known for the village. It’s huge for our livelihood just having people come out here and supporting the local businesses," said Hale.

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