Tag: hurricane Helene

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — While many businesses have been rebuilt after sustaining hurricane damage, other business owners have faced a tough decision on whether to reopen.

But Joe Lalond had to make that decision to close Frost Oasis, an ice cream shop that offers other deserts too.

Scooping ice cream isn’t as easy as it looks.

“And a lot of sore wrists — anyone who works in an ice cream shop gets sore wrists,” he explained.

But Lalond said the hard work is worth it.

“What I love is dealing with customers, making people happy, especially the kids. Everyone loves getting ice cream,” he said.

Lalond has owned Frosty Oasis since 2023. The sweet shop had two locations: one in downtown Palmetto and another on Anna Maria Island, a more profitable spot.

But Lalond won’t be serving ice cream in Holmes Beach anymore. The damage that the shop suffered from hurricanes Helene and Milton proved too costly to repair, forcing him to permanently close.

“We had 80% of our life savings into the island location,” he said. “It was definitely a great chapter of our life — it was a dream that we had, and we had built it up. We had built a great name in the community. We were just catching our stride.”

Now, he hopes to catch his stride in Palmetto.

“We’re hoping to grow this business. We don’t get as much business in this location. We’re in a busy marina, and parking can be a challenge. We don’t have the tourist component that we did on Anna Maria Island,” he said.

While Anna Maria Island was a more lucrative location, he hopes introducing some new ideas will bring in more business.

“We’re going to do some door hangers, which worked really well for us on the island. We’re going to introduce some new products,” Lalond said.

He is moving on, closing one chapter of his business and staying focused on what remains. Lalond said now he is looking to add some food options to help his business stand out and increase revenue.

SARASOTA, Fla. — A popular staple on Lido Beach is set to be demolished following the back-to-back hurricanes.

The Sandcastle Resort sustained significant damage during both Helene and Milton.

The owner says he already had plans to demolish and rebuild even before the hurricanes, but with all the damage the building sustained in the storms, that sped up his plans by a lot.

Now, people are saying goodbye to a community gem.

Bryan and his wife, Lowis Metz, first stayed at The Sandcastle Resort in Lido Beach in 1978.

The two went there for their honeymoon when they were only 20 and 21 at the time.

“I thought it was the most beautiful thing ever, and this place just screamed Florida,” he said. “It’s sad. It’s hard to see it like this. I’m standing here, and half of me is really not seeing this. I still see what I used to see.”

And what they see now are all the memories flashing back.

“It was like two kids, reliving the memory of memory lane,” he said.

Since their first visit, they’ve made 30 trips — bringing their kids, and then their grandkids.

Their last trip was in July, about two months before Hurricane Helene hit.

“I’m so thankful to God that we were here, just here in July. This place is so special. It’s hard to describe just how special it is to us,” Lowis said.

But now, the owner plans to build a new hotel in its place, called The Opal Sandcastle, set to open in 2027.

Bryan says while it’s sad to see this place go, he is ready to make new memories.

“It will be another chapter of The Sandcastle, and it will be great and magnificent,” he said.

The couple has their 47th anniversary coming up in May, and while they can’t stay at Sandcastle, they’ll be staying at a resort nearby.

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A restaurant in St. Armands that has been a staple for over 25 years is struggling to recover after being flooded by two hurricanes.

As the owner waits on insurance money to rebuild, he has found another way to keep serving customers.

This restaurant was the heart of one family’s calling. When storm surge from both Helene and Hurricane Milton flooded their building, they felt all was lost. But now, their legacy is back in action — on wheels.

Simone Salustri never imagined serving his family’s recipes on the road.

Cooking is a skill he inherited as a kid growing up in Rome.

“We are all chefs in our family. My father has been running restaurants, cooking all his life,” he said.

Since October, he has been dishing out meals with his fiancée, Amber, out of his food truck called Buonissimo.

It’s an idea he had since his restaurant in St. Armands, Le Colonne, was flooded during the storms, leaving more than five feet of water inside.

But the food truck is helping.

He says it is a way to make money since the restaurant has been closed.

And also a way to pay for the repairs.

“I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have the food truck. Soon, payments were coming up, and everything was coming up,” he said.

He says it was a one-two punch. After Helene, they started rebuilding, but then Milton came.

“After the second storm, we had no funds left, and we really had to wait. We sat back waiting for insurance,” he said.

The restaurant was also looted twice.

Simone says between the hurricanes and the looters, he’s lost millions of dollars and is still waiting on insurance money.

For now, he’s holding on to what he has left.

“This place means everything to me. It’s all my life,” he said. Which is why he’s working hard to continue his legacy.

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — After last year’s hurricanes, a lumber and hardware store on Anna Maria Island has been essential in helping the community recover — despite facing a rebuilding process of their own.

When demand is high, Joey Garbus works even harder.

“Since day one after Helene, it’s been ridiculously crazy. So many customers,” he said. “And then we’re getting about five or six semis of material every single day.”

Garbus is the manager at Island Lumber and Hardware, a business that has been in his family since 1982.

“It’s almost like a second home for me here,” he said.

He says it has been nonstop work since the hurricanes. The family worked hard to reopen on Sept. 30 — just four days after Hurricane Helene flooded their hardware store.

Garbus says the storm surge damaged two of their forklifts, and they lost two dumpsters’ worth of supplies.

“We’ve got two feet of water in the whole store, so we lost everything up to here,” he explained, pointing to the height of the water during Helene’s storm surge.

One fast-selling item for island residents: doors.

“But they’re coming faster than we can get them out, so they’re overflowing,” he said.

Garbus says his family’s business has always been there for the community, but recently, he feels they’re helping more than ever before.

“It’s been super tough, but it’s very rewarding. Helping people with their homes, people who have been devastated, it puts a smile on their face and on ours. We’re here to help,” he said.

It’s that service Garbus and his family provide to help their fellow residents rebuild their island homes.

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Floodwaters from last year’s hurricanes damaged several priceless artifacts at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society and Museum.

Now, its board is trying to assess each artifact and repair the building.

“This unbelievably messy structure is housing the items we have saved,” said Carolyn Orshak, the museum’s president.

Thousands of artifacts dating back to the 1800s are housed in the museum. Some were damaged by the hurricanes.

“Some of these are really irreplaceable,” she said.

A dozen artifacts were destroyed beyond repair, but others are still being salvaged.

“We don’t want to get rid of anything. You can see some water damage on this sleeve here, but I think we can save that,” she said.

For now, there is hope that these priceless pieces can be restored.

“We have a restoration expert that we have hired to work with us on this project of restoring this museum,” she said.

As far as the building goes, it’s also getting repaired — at the cost of leaving some of its history behind. The original flooring, which dated back to the 1920s, had to be removed.

“It was bad. You slid on the floors. Everything. It looked like a bomb went off. It really did look like a bomb went off,” she said.

The nonprofit relies on donations, and more money is needed to pay for the repairs.

“This museum is loved by the community. They have embraced us and supported us,” she said.

That kind of support is what the Historical Society is counting on so that the island’s history can live on.

Anna Maria Island Historical Society hopes to reopen the first week of March, just in time for the Heritage Festival.

If you would like to donate money to help pay for repairs from the damages, you can on their website here.