PALMETTO, Fla. — In Historic Palmetto, you will find the Nail Nook Spa and Boutique, which has been open for over 25 years.
The Nail Nook provides manicures, pedicures, and spray tanning. But during the pandemic, when those services were difficult to offer, they also started a boutique.
WATCH Palmetto business helped neighbors through hurricane recovery
“We started the boutique during Covid, and we were looking for something to occupy the space in front of the salon. So, we came up with a boutique. So, we started doing candles and lotion and clothes, and it's taken off really well,” said Christina Pugh, the owner of The Nail Nook Spa and Boutique.
Pugh said the store has been a cornerstone for this community and vice versa.
That was truly put to the test during last year’s hurricanes, when although Pugh’s home was damaged, she kept The Nail Nook open because it became a space for the community to gather post-storm.
“In Helene, my home was destroyed, and it took several months to rebuild. It's been a year, and we're almost done. And thankfully, my shop was a place that I came to that was safe and normal,” said Pugh. "A lot of clients didn't have electricity, so they came here to get in the air conditioning, to have Wi Fi, to communicate with family members that they weren't able to because they didn't have Wi Fi at home, and they needed a place to go where we would laugh, and they just felt good because they weren't getting a shower or just busy trying to clean up their homes, and we did that for them."
Pugh told Tampa Bay 28 that is truly what makes Palmetto so special, everyone steps up to help their neighbors.
It's been one year since Hurricane Milton impacted our community. Tampa Bay 28 revisited some of Tampa Bay's hardest hit areas to show the recovery and the work that still needs to be done.
