ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — The inaugural St. Pete Beach Seafood Festival drew larger-than-expected crowds to historic Corey Avenue, offering a promising sign for a community that was significantly impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Tampa Bay 28 reporter Blake Phillips has been covering the slow but steady recovery of St. Pete Beach since last summer.
Ken Hautmann, an owner of Chill Restaurant & Bar, said the turnout over the festival weekend exceeded expectations.
"It's been amazing to see the turnout over the weekend. More than we expected, so we're really excited about it, and it shows that Corey Avenue is back," Hautmann said.
Hautmann told Phillips in 2025 that reopening immediately after the storms wasn't a sure thing. But it was the community that kept him going.
"Like we've spoken in the past, the storms really brought us together as a community," Hautmann said. "Saint Pete Beach has such an amazing community, and it's just been wonderful to see how people have come out to support."
The numbers backed up that sentiment. Hautmann said business during the festival ran well above a typical weekend.
"Triple of what we would normally do on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. So it's been wonderful, you know, and especially in the summer months, you know, the beach gets quiet, it gets hot, and people don't want to be out. So to have this uptick in business, it's been a huge, huge benefit for everybody," Hautmann said.
The seafood festival is part of the Corey Area Business Association's plan to increase foot traffic in the area. And the boost is being felt beyond the businesses themselves.
Monique Michaud has lived in the St. Pete Beach area since the 1980s. Her home flooded during the storms, but she kept returning to places like Corey Avenue to help the town get back on its feet.
"These people were here when we went through the worst time. They were the support for all of us going through so much, and now it's just been a wonderful recovery, an uplifting experience. Great to see everybody smiling and happy," Michaud said.
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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