By Hannah Edgeman
In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, small businesses in the St. Petersburg area are still piecing together their livelihoods. Some owners find themselves close to fully reopening their stores, while others feel stuck in a waiting period, not too far removed from the moments of devastation that occurred in the days following Hurricane Milton.
One of these “stuck” individuals is Jenny Williams, the co-owner of The Farmhouse Market and Café, a breakfast and sandwich shop on the outskirts of St. Pete.
Williams founded the restaurant with her husband in 2018, and in the six years since it has become a staple in its town. Many residents visit the Farmhouse Market not only for their daily meals and coffee, but also for fresh locally farmed produce and meat.
Their steady business came to a halt on Oct. 10, when Milton’s 75 mph winds tore the roof from the building.
“This definitely was not even really a thought that something like this could happen,” Williams said. “You know our building is surrounded by windows, and I’ve been through hurricanes before and, you know, and there’s flying debris. That’s something that you could have thought ‘that possibly could have happened’ but never in a million years did we think that.”
This loss of ceiling paired with the exhaust fan being ripped away created large holes in the roof, and with the hours’ worth of heavy rain it absorbed, the interior was not salvageable. Their electronics, merchandise and inventory were soaked and destroyed.
Now, Williams and her husband are playing the waiting game, postponing rebuilding efforts until they receive funds from their insurance company. She shares feelings of discouragement over already waiting a month and half for a response from the company.
While waiting, they are finding hope on the other side of the storm through their community, she said. The Farmhouse Market’s website declares that they “have a vision of supporting local farms and businesses to bring the best and freshest products.” Following Milton, the people they set out to support are now supporting them.
When Williams posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page that they would not be reopening for the foreseeable future, customers began to arrive at their front door, not asking for a coffee, but for a chance to help her clean the debris out of her store.
“We have been absolutely blown away at the level of heartbreak that the community is actually sharing with us,” Williams said, her voice tight with emotion. “I mean, we don’t deserve the support that they’ve given us.”
Damage to small businesses’ buildings is not the only challenge on Florida’s west coast. One set of owners, Rick and Diana Murcar, have had to close a portion of their storefront so they can have a place to live.
The Murcars sustained great enough damage to their home that they are no longer able to reside there. Their scuba diving business, Aquatic Adventures of Florida, has a section for storage that has been transformed into a living space for themselves and their dog.
Since this move is going to be permanent, they will have to learn to minimize the amount of backup products they can store, which is an additional financial burden on top of an already slow season, they said.
“The economy and the overall effect of Milton on many peoples’ lives prevents them from enjoying activities considered a luxury by many,” Murcar said.
Luckily, on another street in St. Pete, there is hope. Friends of Strays Animal Shelter, the oldest no-kill shelter in St. Pete, made it through both storms with minimal damage to their structure and recently reopened their Cat Box Adoption Center on Nov. 29.
Since the Cat Box’s administration area was flooded due to the overwhelming rain, the staff evacuated the cats to a shelter in New York, where the majority of the transferred pets have since been adopted.
Even while patching up their own drywall, Friends of Strays made an effort to help pet owners affected by Milton by holding free vaccine and microchip clinics for cats.
“We had about 97 cats receive services through that,” said Jessica Salmond, Friends of Strays’ communications and marketing manager. “We also collected pet food donations from the public to give out to families in need that have been affected by the hurricanes, and we worked with nine or 10 different organizations to help distribute that food to families in need.”
According to Williams and Murcar, success stories like Salmond’s allow them to remain looking ahead to what the future has in store for them.
“Our faith in God is very strong,” Williams said. “We just keep on looking forward to our future plans.”