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Sarasota businesses face uncertain future
Kylie Jones reports
SARASOTA, Fla. - It’s not clear when a lot of businesses in St. Armands Circle will be able to reopen after many of them flooded during Hurricane Helene. A lot of shops on the ground level had several feet of floodwater inside.
Business owners around the circle have spent the last several days gutting their businesses and throwing items into growing piles of trash and debris on the sidewalk.
"It’s really heartbreaking for us to have this happen," said Susan Leonard, the owner of Shore Restaurant and retail store.
Leonard and her daughter, Courtney, said they’ve weathered many storms over the years, but nothing like Helene.
"We did our standard preparations," Courtney said. "We moved all our merchandise above table top height. We’ve never flooded. This building has never seen water inside. And we had no wind damage at all. It was all water damage. The surge just came into the store like a vengeance."
The Leonards said it looked like a bomb went off inside their first-floor retail store after the storm.
"We had approximately four feet of water flood through Shore, because our tabletops are all just ruined," Susan Leonard said. "Our fixtures are ruined. Clothing is ruined."
MORE: Pinellas County hopes water will be restored to the barrier islands by the end of the week
Café L’Europe also had around four feet of flooding from Helene. The restaurant is already gutted, and its team is working hard to remediate it as quickly as possible.
Wolseley Rivera, the sous chef at Café L’Europe, said they’ve actually made a lot of progress in just the last few days.
"There was a point where I was like, ‘Oh boy. I don’t know what’s going to happen here,’" Rivera said.
He said this has brought their team together and given them hope that they’ll get through this.
READ: Town ‘n’ Country residents cleaning up after Hurricane Helene: 'It was just a surreal experience'
Despite the devastation and destruction, the community in St. Armands Circle is coming together to support each other.
"A lot of these restaurants and retail stores are shut down, because they’re first floor level," Leonard said. "We have an upper restaurant, so we said, ‘Well, let’s give the workers food and lunch.’"
Since Shore Restaurant is on the second floor, it’s still open, so the Leonards decided to start making lunch for the other employees around the circle.
"It’s pretty cool," Rivera said. "Every other restaurant is helping another restaurant out. I like that."
MORE: Amid damage to hotels and restaurants, employees hope to return to work after Hurricane Helene
Some business owners aren’t sure if they’ll be able to reopen. For others, it may take weeks or months until they’re able to reopen, but they want people to know that they will rebuild.
"There have been a lot of tears that have been shed on the circle, and this is such a small way that we can help contribute and ease the burden, then we’re happy to do it," Courtney said.
In order to alleviate traffic congestion and to allow solid waste and storm debris to navigate neighborhood streets during storm recovery, the city of Sarasota is offering parking permits for purchase for St. Armands, Lido and Bird Key residents. Residents can buy a permit for the St. Armands Garage during October for $100 with proof of residency.
Parking is limited to the third and fourth floors of St. Armands Garage. The city says parking permit applications must be submitted to the parking division in person. You can find information about applications here.
The city says the temporary program will be reviewed at the end of the month.
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