FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — It’s now been 73 days since Hurricane Ian and communities throughout Southwest Florida are still picking up the pieces.
As some work to salvage their homes, others are working to reopen their doors for business.
It's a site all too familiar on Fort Myers Beach— debris piles and flattened buildings. And yet, just a few stories up above in one building, there are signs of the beach’s revival.
"We want it to feel welcoming for the guests," says Marcel Chartier, the food & beverage manager at Diamondhead Beach Resort. "We want people to come in and feel a little bit of normalcy.”
A bit of normalcy slowly returning to Fort Myers Beach as the Coste Island Cuisine reopens its doors.
“We’ve been working on the resort and the restaurant for the last month and a half or so," said Chartier. "Trying to get everything back into place making it safe for the guests.”
Guests that have been through so much the past couple of months. Now able to gather around a hot meal or a cold cocktail.
"You hear the stories from everyone," says Chartier. "They tell us the devastation they had in their lives. It’s a lot of tears and a lot of happy faces at the same time because everybody is happy to be back. It’s just great to see everyone.”
Stories of Hurricane Ian that include some of the staff’s very own. As they sought shelter within the resort’s walls.
"You’re thinking you’re getting a couple of feet of water, maybe, if there’s a surge," said Chartier. "But that quickly changed as we watched that water come in. We could actually see it through the windows.”
Meaning to get the restaurant and resort back to where it is has been no overnight job.
"We had to have the hotel checked for mold and make sure there was no mold in the hotel, and that the parking lot was safe. The main goal was making sure that we had a nice safe place for everyone to come into.”
A process that is still taking shape as the resort undergoes a phased re-opening. A limited number of one-bedroom suites will be available for displaced beach residents or those helping rebuild the beach. Something they can’t wait to get started.
"Happy to be open and I can’t wait to see everyone come in and see us,” said Chartier.
The restaurant says they will be open daily. Diamondhead Resort will be reopening their doors on Wednesday.
