ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Residents and business owners in St. Pete beach are frustrated after Hurricane Helene flooded their homes and, for many, Hurricane Milton damaged their roofs. It’s a familiar story but one they’re hoping will be addressed in a meeting with city officials Monday.
Café Soleil is a business on the beach that’s struggling.
“Well, I wouldn’t even know where to start right now,” said owner Lauren Chezaud.
Hurricane Milton’s intense rain and winds came in, damaging her cafe and the unit above her. It’s the last thing Chezaud thought she would be coming back to after evacuating.
“I think I was a bit in shock. I didn’t realize the extent of the damage until contractors came in and told me that we had mold all over, that they had to destroy everything we had built here. All of our counters, our bar, our walls, the decorating we put into the place,” she said.
After Helene, Chezaud had counted herself lucky. She had minimal damage to her business, so she shifted her focus to helping her neighbors. Her cafe served as a drop off spot for donations for Helene victims. But a lot of those items got destroyed during this latest storm too.
“We started collecting donations for people who needed them. So we had a lot of donations here that we were hoping to be able to give to people when we reopened. All of that got flooded,” she said.
Now the helper is asking for help herself.
“Everyone is without a job right now. I found no other solution than to start a GoFund me page so we can keep our team on board. Most of them have lost everything. They’ve lost their second jobs, they’ve lost their homes, they’ve lost their cars.”
Chezaud said her worries didn’t end at her cafe. She also lives a few blocks from her business and she’s taking all of her other concerns to city leaders at a community meeting.
“As a resident of the beach, we want to bring to their attention that a lot of us — and it’s not only the small businesses — as residents we don’t feel safe here anymore,” Chezaud said. “Our homes are being burglarized. We still have looters out there. People are struggling to make ends meet.”
The City of St. Pete Beach Public Information Officer Marc Portugal said leaders are prepared to hear concerns from business owners and residents at their community meeting.
“Tonight, what we’re extending is an invitation. It’s an invitation to grieve, it’s an invitation to communicate, and it’s an invitation to make sure that we, the residents and the businesses are all on the same page so that we can move forward in the recovery process,” he said.
It’s a recovery process Chezaud said her neighbors are struggling with and one they’re hoping will be made just a little easier with support from the community and local leaders.
The community meeting with St. Pete Beach City Officials is at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. It’s also being streamed online for those who can’t attend. Leaders say they plan to address the debris pickup, the sewage system failures and permitting. Residents are encouraged to present their concerns.
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