TAMPA, Fla. — Davis Islands was an area hit hard by storm surge from Hurricane Helene, but life is slowly returning to normal.
Island Pizza was up and running in short order after the two hurricanes rolled through the region. The owner, John Harr, has been a businessman in the area for 15 years and has owned the pizza joint for the past 12 years.
“The people here are super nice. I mean its its own little community. Its very unique,” Harr said.
Harr also owns a wine bar next to Island Pizza called The Cork Room. He says it was rough after Hurricane Helene, where storm surge flowed through both businesses. But, both are now open again.
However, Harr says that business has not fully returned to normal. He says a lot of nearby apartments are still empty and under renovation from storm damage.
“I would say there is probably at least a 3rd of the people don’t live over here right now,” Harr said.
He says that business during the day is mostly back to normal, but that the night life is still suffering.
He hopes that this will change after the holiday season as more people begin to move back into nearby apartments.