The Islander set for Round 2
The Islander, Gift Gallery & Boutique is getting set for another Fort Myers Beach comeback at Santini Plaza for the third time in as many weeks.
Two years after Hurricane Ian destroyed Anita Cereceda's store, the former mayor and Fort Myers Beach Observer Humanitarian of the Year was ready to reopen on the anniversary of Hurricane Ian. Then Hurricane Helene came and Cereceda postponed opening.
She reopened nearly two weeks ago on a Friday in what she called a "homecoming parade" with residents and old friends who hadn't seen much of each other since Hurricane Ian gathering together in a reunion. "It was fantastic," she said.
"We had two good days and then I had to put everything in a trailer." Cereceda said. That was because the news of Hurricane Milton came down. "It was all in a 26-feet U-Haul truck," she said.
Almost all it. Cereceda said a couple tables that were left behind did not make it. "Which in the scheme of things is pretty darn good," she said.
As for her own Fort Myers Beach home, Cereceda said she was able to put most of her furniture in a nieghbor's house – which was more elevated than hers. Her own carpet was "tore up," Cereceda said.
Losing her carpet is what Cereceda called "the joy of island life."
On Monday, Cereceda was surrounded by friends helping her get back into the store, cleaning up puddles of water and muck from Hurricane Milton. "It's a day of mopping," Cereceda said. The group included former fellow councilmembers like Rexann Hosafros and Ray Murphy.
Cereceda, the current chair of the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency, lost her two other two businesses on Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian – The Pier Peddler and Local Color at Times Square were literally washed away. She had no insurance and lost everything in the stores.
Now she is starting over again, more than 30 years after she returned home to help run her family's Times Square business – The Pier Peddler.
The Islander, Gift Gallery and Boutique features women, men and children's clothing as well as jewelry, housewares, artwork and gifts.
Cereceda had been working around the clock to be open in time for the anniversary of Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28 with the help of workers and colleagues and The Property Medic – which handled the layout and installations.
The reopening of Cereceda's store is quite significant to the town as it's the first business to reopen at Santini Plaza since Hurricane Ian. A whole new group of businesses is expected to open up at the town's commercial shopping center – including Surf Style, a new cafe and Italian restaurant – as well as familiar favorites like the South Beach Grille and Leani's Casual and Swimwear.
Cereceda, who was the town's first appointed mayor after being elected to the town's first council after incorporation, is thinking about Hurricane Milton's impact on her town.
"I am nervous, hopeful, resilient, just praying day to day that everybody gets through this one," Cereceda said of Hurricane Milton. "There is a lot of people thinking twice about living on an island. Not me. This is my home."
