St. Pete Beach slowly returns to normal after back-to-back hurricanes

St. Pete Beach businesses begin reopening

With cleanup efforts making progress, businesses in beachside areas hit hard by recent hurricanes are beginning to reopen.

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - St. Pete Beach is slowly returning to normal following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. On Monday, volunteers worked to clean up the beach while a sand sifting operation on Pass-a-Grille continued.

Businesses like Hurricane Seafood Restaurant have also reopened. Owner Rick Falkenstein said the past few weeks have brought a rollercoaster of emotions.

"It’s going to change…it’s really going to change…and it’s sad," he said. "It’s sad that a lot of the homes will either probably have to be lifted, torn down. And some of the residents, who are wonderful residents might have to move away."

READ: Meet the bus drivers who shuttled people to safety before storms

He said Hurricane Helene caused damage unlike anything Pass-a-Grille has seen before.

"Very high sand dunes. Very high. Sand all over the place," he explained. "If you walk from 10th Avenue to 1st Avenue, I want to say 20 feet high, a solid wall. It looked like a blizzard."

But, things are looking up. Falkenstein was able to reopen the restaurant. Across the street, a sand restoration operation has replaced what used to be a beach renourishment project through Pinellas County.

"They take sand from the side streets, they pile it up on a big mound, they run it through the sifter and get the debris out," he said.

MORE: Treasure Island's mayor resigns after home 'damaged beyond repair' during Hurricanes Helene, Milton

Pinellas County Public Works said, so far, 19,217 Cubic Yards of sand have been sifted. Most of which has been returned to Pass-a-Grille Beach, and its dunes.

Meanwhile, Keep Pinellas Beautiful volunteers have been hard at work doing their part to restore the beach. Monday, the non-profit hosted it's fourth of six beach cleanups on St. Pete Beach.

"We had one yesterday [Sunday] morning. We picked up 1,800 pounds. The one before that, 1,200 pounds of debris. And so, we’re just continuing to go," said Devon Francke, the education coordinator for Keep Pinellas Beautiful.

The next Keep Pinellas Beautiful beach cleanup is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, from 8-10 a.m. at 900 Gulf Way in St. Pete Beach. For more information, click here.

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