ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — New businesses are opening on historic Corey Avenue on St. Pete Beach, replacing the "for lease" signs that lined the street in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In the past two years, the street was dotted with vacancy signs. Now, open signs are starting to light up in their place.
WATCH: St. Pete Beach's Corey Avenue sees real comeback 2 years after Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Dan Plamondon and his wife are visiting from Michigan to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary — their first time at St. Pete Beach.
"It seems very active. We arrived on a Saturday, so it seems like there's a lot, it's very vibrant. There's a lot of stuff going on," Plamondon said.
The couple plans to spend several days exploring the area.
"We'll be here for a few days and looking forward to kind of shopping and maybe finding some nice places to dine and enjoy," Plamondon said.
Among the newest additions to the strip is Fellas Vinoir, an espresso bar that soft-opened two weeks ago. Diana Pemelton, the general manager, said the business is already seeing the potential Corey Avenue has to offer.
"It actually is so great to see people back here. It's so wonderful to see these shops opening up and not a whole bunch of 'for lease' signs on them," Pemelton said.
Pemelton pointed to several community events already drawing people to the street.
"We have our sip and stroll, which is the last Friday of every month on Corey. Of course, we have the Sunday market. We just had the seafood festival, which was fantastic," Pemelton said.
"It's bringing back a new life and just a new energy to Corey Avenue," Pemelton said.
Just down the street, another new business is taking shape inside the old Wells Fargo bank building. Joe McEntegart, with his family, bought the building and is turning it into the Art Vault on Corey Avenue.
"The storm was here, and Corey was kind of trashed, so it's like, OK, maybe I can help the community and at the same time start my business," McEntegart said.
The Art Vault is aiming to open by Sept. 1.
The Corey Area Business Association is also working to bring more people to the street by hosting events.
This Friday, the sip and stroll event will feature businesses opening their doors to draw the community out during the slower summer months.
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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