ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Hurricanes Helene and Milton delivered a devastating one-two punch to Pinellas County, leaving small businesses throughout the coastal communities still working to recover months later.
"We're gonna get there. It's just gonna take time, you know, and there's still people that are still out of their homes," said Ted Stice, owner of Category 36 Taphouse & Kitchen.
WATCH: Small businesses on St. Pete Beach continue work to rebuild after Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Blake Phillips has been listening to business owners up and down the Pinellas coast since the summer, including on Corey Avenue on St. Pete Beach.
Category 36 Taphouse & Kitchen is one business that has experienced a long road back to reopening its doors. They reopened briefly in February of 2025 but then had to move out and relocate to Corey Avenue.
"It took us about 9 months total to get reopened. August 1st, we signed the lease here at our new location on Corey Avenue, and then we got to work, you know, getting it remodeled and ready for business," Stice said.
Now that their doors are back open, spreading the word to both locals and tourists is the next challenge.
"We'll have a just a crazy night and then the next night not so much, so we're just kind of braced for whatever," Stice said.
As Stice and Phillips talked, one of the former regulars, Tom Chase, found his way back to one of his favorite local spots.
"I was just down at Swigwam, and I needed to get something to eat, and they told me that they were opened up and I couldn't have been happier, so I jaunted right down here for this, so this is awesome," Chase said.
With most places along St. Pete Beach back open, the goal now is spreading that word.
"That's really our goal. To work together to bring as many customers that we possibly can," said Elizabeth Nowak, owner of Elizabeth's Boutique.
"It's going to be a push to let people know, hey, come back, we're more than just beautiful beaches, we've got great businesses, we've got a movie theater, we've got lots of new things," said Kim Graves, a project manager for businesses along St. Pete Beach.
For businesses like Category 36, 2026, and the first half of it heading into spring break, will be a big indicator of what they can expect in their new spot along Corey Avenue. For now, they're just happy to be open again, getting people back in the door and seeing regulars they haven't seen in a while.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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