Gulfport business owners work hard to reopen after being hit by 3 hurricanes

GULFPORT, Fla. (WFLA) – The town of Gulfport in Pinellas County has now been rocked by three hurricanes in a row.

Like many communities in the Tampa Bay area, people there are working hard to recover. Many of the small businesses in Gulfport were forced to close before and after each storm, losing important revenue.

Pia's Restaurant in Gulfport is one of the businesses that has been impacted. They first opened more than 20 years ago.

"We had a tiny little kitchen, we had a tiny little bar and a tiny little dining room," said Owner Pia Goff.

The business has grown substantially since then, but they worked hard to recover from each storm.

"Helene was horrible because we didn't expect it. We've never had water here," said Goff.

Across the street at the Gulfport Brewery, they, too, were impacted by each storm.

Business owner Paige Valensky-Acree employs more than 30 people between the brewery and two other businesses she owns there.

"So that's people that aren't getting a paycheck in that time when we're closed," said Valensky-Acree.

Each business has worked hard to clean up an make repairs after each storm. They say they just need customers to come back now, so they can keep going.

"What the businesses really need are the customers. They pay the salaries, for my servers. That's how they can pay rent, that's how we can pay our bills. We don't want donations, we want to go back to work," said Goff.