A resident of St. Petersburg’s Danielle Jensen discusses the response of Gov. Ron DeSantis on Hurricane Milton in ‘Varney & Co
Andrea Gonzmart Williams, a fifth-generation owner and operator of eight restaurants in Florida, expects to face hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage-related costs as she works to reopen after back-to-back hurricanes.
Still, he is pushing ahead with his plan to reopen all of them, including his hardest-hit locations, within weeks. The main reason: it can give hope to communities in a difficult time, according to Gonzmart Williams.
“Having this kind of hope in people does wonders for the community and other business leaders,” he told FOX Business.
Crews have begun renovating the Columbia Restaurant in St. Armands Circle in Sarasota after Hurricane Helene. (Columbia Restaurant / Fox News)
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane in late September. Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton became a Category 3 storm. Most of the damage was caused by Helene.
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As of Friday, Gonzmart Williams said most of his restaurants, located in Tampa, Sarasota, Celebration and Clearwater, all under his company, 1905 Family of Restaurants, are temporarily closed due to power outages. They were left largely unscathed otherwise.
Columbia Restaurant in St. Armands Circle in Sarasota before Hurricane Helene hit the region. (Columbia Restaurant / Fox News)
But two of his restaurants in St. Armands Circle in Sarasota – Columbia Restaurant and Cha Cha Coconuts – suffered “unprecedented” water damage. Both took about 3 to 4 liters of water from Helene, he said.
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Crews have begun renovating the Columbia Restaurant in St. Louis. Armands Circle in Sarasota after Hurricane Helene. (Columbia Restaurant / Fox News)
The restaurants lost all their equipment because of Helene, and some drywall had to be replaced. But despite the storm, he estimated it would take three to four weeks to reopen.
When Milton blocked two weeks later, both sites were “bare bones,” meaning they were in no danger of losing anything else. Gonzmart Williams said their plans are still going well despite the financial crisis.
Crews have begun renovating the Columbia Restaurant in St. Louis. Armands Circle in Sarasota after Hurricane Helene. (Columbia Restaurant / Fox News)
Construction company Gonzmart Williams is working on a repair estimate that will cost less than $1 million, and that doesn’t include the cost of new equipment, he said.
Columbia Restaurant in St. Armands Circle in Sarasota boarded up before Hurricane Milton hit the west coast of Florida. (Columbia Restaurant / Fox News)
However, he said reopening is important not only to the community but also to his employees.
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“We were always taught … that we had to go back to that community that we had removed,” Gonzmart Williams said. Getting back to normal is the best way to do that, he added.