Siesta Key, Fla. (WWSB) – Siesta Key is where Milton made landfall a year ago on Thursday, impacting many people and businesses. Business owners are looking back on the destruction Milton had on their shops.
Jonilda Dragan, owner of her family business, Made in Rome Organic Gelato, said this is the first storm her business has experienced, opening a few months before Milton hit.
“All the cakes, desserts, gelato—everything was damaged. So we had to clean all these things and remake everything from scratch,” said Made in Rome Organic Gelato Owner/Manager Jonilda Dragani.
She said Milton brought 10 to 15 inches of floodwater into her shop, forcing her to shut down for 3 weeks, but she is grateful her business is on the upper level of main street.
“For the stores that are directly on main street, they had more damage than I did, and it is sad to see that,” said Dragani.
Dragani said she’ll be more prepared for the next storm.
“It’s a lesson for us. So we know how to get prepared for next time; you get better at everything,” said Dragani.
Unlike Made in Rome Organic Gelato, The Old Salty Dog experienced dozens of storms, marking 40 years of operation on Siesta Key this month.
Although the manager said they’re always prepared for storms, destruction still came around during Milton, having to shut down for two and a half weeks.
“I think it was compounded because there was so much debris that was stacked up from Helene. And then we had the big wind event, which ended up hitting directly here,” said Manager of The Old Salty Dog Jason Nadell.
Nadell said the restaurant didn’t have any flooding, only previously when Helene hit a few weeks prior. But due to the electricity being out, they didn’t have food to serve people at the time.
Nadell said The Old Salty Dog was one of the first businesses to open up after Milton and was able to feed hurricane relief crews and locals, but once it got dark, business was slow.
“We didn’t have streetlights out here. So that put a big damper on business because nobody wanted to come out here. It was pitch black everywhere,” said Nadell.
But, both business owners say they are beyond grateful for the community’s help.
“The nice thing was seeing all the community come together after something like this; you start to realize the community aspect of it because it’s easy to—I think it’s easy to get lost,” said Nadell.
“I love the American community. Everybody helps each other. We are very close to each other. It doesn’t matter if it’s my business, your business, his business, or our business. We all love each other, and we try to survive in this kind of storm or hurricane that the weather surprises us with,” said Dragani.
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