00:00All down there things. All right. We need to go. We need to go. Come on. Storm surged. Soak scars from back to back hurricanes are still healing along many parts of coastal western Florida. When we first came in, my head would touch the ceiling if I didn't bend down because of how much sand was in the building. And we had to almost crawl to get through here to remove furniture, remove trash. Randy Esponda manages a string of businesses along the Pinellas County Barrier
00:29Islands, all heavily damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton, including historic caddies on the beach. It was the only place that served alcohol in Sunset Beach where you're allowed to drink alcohol for many years. A seven-foot storm surge along Sunset Beach and Treasure Island meant most buildings took on water and an unprecedented amount of sand. One year later, recovery is uneven. We're operating at, you know, semi-capacity where we have
00:59a tent and we built a bar under it. We have a food truck, a bathroom trailer. According to Pinellas County Tourism, last year, more than 15 million visitors brought an estimated $11 billion to the St. Pete Clearwater region. Now, caddies is just one of dozens of businesses in western central Florida that are trying to rebuild after back to back hurricanes. I'd say the majority of people on the island are not back in their homes. That's who helps us carry through season
01:29that last year later on in the
01:30community on the road. We've got to
01:32overtu. That's who helps us out that
01:32this is what we see for our
01:33home. We know how we see the
01:33homes are going to go. We see
01:34here in the middle of the
01:35year later on in the year. So it's
01:36very slow coming. Foot traffic is
01:37very light. Like many business owners
01:38here, Esponda is betting on a
01:39comeback, aiming to have caddies on
01:40the beach storm ready by next
01:42spring. For us, we're making it a
01:44lot easier to break down if a storm
01:47want to come. If we have this huge storm surge, the walls are going to
01:50break through all the water's going to go out the back and we want to take as
01:54much out of the building as possible. Local business owners are staying in the fight, even if that means under
01:59tents and umbrellas because sometimes survival means adapting, not waiting for conditions to
02:06be paradise perfect. The sun is still shining. The sand is still in between your toes and
02:12soft and the water is great. Reporting in Treasure Island, I'm Leslie Hudson for AccuWeather.
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