In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, residents and business owners are scrambling to assess the damage and plan their recovery efforts. The area’s barrier islands and coastal areas suffered an unprecedented storm surge, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in local damages and hundreds of billions of dollars in damages nationally.

Tourism is a foundational economic driver in Southwest Florida. In 2023, Sarasota County alone saw more than 3.2 million visitors, which translated into nearly $4.5 billion for our region.

Coastal businesses have been hit the hardest, and while some have been swift in their recovery, others will take weeks, months or even years to rebuild. Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands Circle, for example, is closed temporarily. While the restaurant expects to reopen within weeks, there is no specific date set at this time.

Mark Sherwin, the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, has reported that the resort’s private beach club on Lido Key has endured significant damage to its beachside amenities, including its iconic tiki hut, which sits directly on the beach.

Sherwin, however, remains optimistic about the future. “Our coast has experienced hurricanes and other natural disasters for many years, and always comes back stronger than before,” he says. “Though the impact was significant, I feel the Sarasota community will continue to be a very desirable location for living, vacationing and the growth of small businesses to support those communities. We are a strong and vibrant community.”

Protecting hospitality workers is also top of mind. Hospitality business owners and managers have prioritized their staff’s physical safety and economic well-being.

Samantha Lemmer, the general manager of Siesta Key Oyster Bar, says the restaurant's 80-person staff has been eager to assist with recovery. “We have such amazing employees," she says. "The staff wants to come in and help, but we want to make sure that safety is top priority.”

SKOB, as the locals call it, saw 3 feet of water damage, despite the restaurant being elevated above the road. According to Lemmer, the worst damage was caused by overflowing grease traps that leaked into the dining room.

“Inside, there has been a lot of structural damage," says Lemmer. "A lot of water got into our walls, floors and tiles. We have a lot of repairing we’ll have to do inside.”

“We got our hands really dirty to make sure it was safe for our team to come back," she says. "They care about this place so much and it breaks our hearts that we had to ask them to wait a few more days before returning to help. Today, it’s safe. We’re welcoming our employees to come see everyone and come back to their ‘home.’ It’s been an overwhelming and heartbreaking thing. We’ve been working hours every single day to get this place up and running again.”

Hemmer anticipates the restaurant’s outdoor patio may open as early as this week, pending gas being restored to the island. The dining room, however, will take longer to repair.

Mike Granthon, one of the owners of Above the Bar Hospitality Group, says that his businesses—which include Summer House, The Cottage, The Hub, The Beach Club, MVP and Siesta Poke—have experienced varying levels of damage.

“We’re in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, especially The Hub, Beach Club and The Cottage,” he says. “We had a fire in 2015 at The Hub where we also endured considerable damage. I’m not sure which one is worse, a fire or a flood. Water gets in places where it just destroys things and wreaks havoc on the walls, floor, drainage, electrical. It’s bad.”

Summer House, an intimate steak and seafood restaurant, fared somewhat better than the others.

“Summer House was high enough and waterproof,” says Granthon. “We will open it for lunch, which I have never done before. It will give the employees another place to work and the residents somewhere to dine. We still don’t have gas, but are hoping that it is repaired quickly. Once it is, we will reopen Summer House immediately.”

Over at Blasé Martini Bar, which opened in 1997 and was acquired by Watershed Hospitality in 2021, co-owner Mike Quillen says, “We are still evaluating. There was 2 feet of water up all of the walls.”

The restaurant had just completed renovations, which included the addition of a new deck that was scheduled to be unveiled the day after Helene passed.

“Siesta Key has been devastated,” says Quillen. “We are ever mindful about our neighbors and our employees. The hospitality industry folks are resilient, so we hope to be able to open to give our local and visitor guests a chance to get some comfort. Additionally, we are supporting our staff in any way if they need help for time off or any other unexpected needs.”

South Sarasota County businesses were also affected by storm surge. Sue Atamanchuk and her son Mike Atamanchuk, along with other family members, own four Manasota Key businesses, including Lock 'n Key, SandBar Tiki & Grille, Magnolias on the Bay and Manasota Key Marina.

“Our damages at Lock 'n Key were anywhere from 1.5 to 2 feet of storm surge throughout the entire restaurant,” says Mike Atamanchuk. “It crept into our bar area, dining room, bathroom and kitchen. The water got in everywhere. We had some camera footage until about 9 p.m. The back and front parking lots were completely covered.”

“All day long we were looking at the cameras,” adds Sue Atamanchuk. “I texted other business owners around 3 p.m., letting them know that we were looking good. No more than 30 minutes later we were surrounded by water as though a dam had broken. There was a gush of water.”

The Atamanchuks' businesses each endured different levels of damage, with SandBar and Manasota Key Marina seeing the worst of it.

“We’re petrified right now," says Sue. "We’re so freaked out. Manasota Key got hit so hard during Hurricane Ian and it’s the same time of year. Then, what it did to our season, which we rely on to survive—I just don’t know what is to come.”

The Atamanchuks employ more than 300 people across their four businesses and are mostly concerned with the well-being of their staff.

“We can’t stop thinking about them,” Sue says.

“Our team has shown up like an army working to get these places back together," says Mike. "It’s a special feeling when you have family like that who wants everyone back on their feet. The coming together has been awesome."