On Davis Islands, small business owners pick up the pieces of their livelihood after Hurricane Helene
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 4, 2024

Julie Curry thought she was prepared for a disaster: She has multiple insurance policies on her business, Bake'n Babes, including life insurance on herself, so that her employees won't be out of work if she dies suddenly.

On Sept. 27, hours after storm surge from Hurricane Helene flooded Bake'n Babes and the other restaurants and small businesses that line the retail village on Davis Islands, a public adjuster arrived at Bake'n Babes' hot pink storefront at the same time as mold remediators. Curry was assured that most of her damage would be covered.

"They took photos of all the equipment. They said, 'Don't worry. Don't worry; it's OK. It's going to be covered,'" Curry said. "And then everything got denied."

She didn't have flood insurance.

Curry and the other business owners on Davis Islands are dealing with a range of challenges, from battling with insurance companies to finding supplies, in Helene's wake. The Tampa Bay Business Journal visited with business owners there on Thursday, one week after Helene brought historic flooding to the island, one of Tampa's wealthiest enclaves. The small businesses that line Davis Boulevard are part of the island's charm, giving the neighborhood a laid-back, small-town vibe just minutes from Tampa's business and cultural epicenters.

Bake'n Babes

Curry was having a rough year before Helene flooded her Davis Islands bakery, known for its salted chocolate chip cookies, trademarked Sleazy Brownies and Instagram-worthy Freak Shakes, a milkshake that comes with a literal sparkler. She closed the Bake'n Babes location in Armature Works in April after a shooting in the area.

"I'm not even financially recovered from abruptly closing that," she said, her face crumpling.

When she and her husband arrived at Bake'n Babes on Sept. 28, her mind didn't immediately process what was happening. Kitchen equipment, potted plants and furniture were strewn about the storefront after floating around in storm surge. By noon, the bakery was mostly dry, and Curry thought the damage might be minimal. She was confused when the mold remediation company she'd hired mentioned tearing out her cabinets.

"I was not computing," she said. "I'm like, 'It will dry. You have about 900 fans in here.' And they were like, 'No, it's contaminated water. It's not going to dry out; it's going to grow mold, and then the mold will spread.' It's all these little things — they were throwing the cabinets out, and I was trying to unscrew the pink, heart-shaped porcelain knobs that I bought."

Curry said she may be able to reopen this weekend; enough of her kitchen equipment has been repaired, and the mold remediators salvaged some of her furniture. She estimates her investment to reopen the bakery — doing the bare minimum of repairs just to get it open — will cost $20,000.

Her mother, a retired nurse, has been bleaching every hard surface within and around the bakery.

"This is now a biohazard," she said, pointing to an exterior wall. "What if a child comes and rubs their hand on this and then sticks it in their mouth? This is the level of cleaning we have to do."

Cruz Interiors

Just over 48 hours before Helene flooded Davis Islands, Christina Cruz and her husband were toasting their new storefront with a glass of wine at Oggi Italian. They had just finished painting the last baseboard in the interior design firm's new showroom. Opening a storefront in a walkable area like Davis Islands was a yearslong dream, and Cruz was on the verge of seeing it realized.

She spent $100,000 building out the space and planned to hold a grand opening celebration on Thursday. Instead of welcoming the interior design firm's friends, family and clients to the space, it's gutted. She calls up a video on her iPhone that shows saltwater sloshing around in drawers inside the showroom.

"When we heard about the storm coming, I had come back and put everything up high on my tall cabinets, just in case," Cruz said. "I never thought in a million years it would be 30 inches of water."

Custom cabinetry that cost $34,000 was hauled to the curb less than two days after it was installed. Cruz has hurricane insurance but discovered soon after the storm that her policy doesn't cover water damage. Her repairs, which she estimates will cost $100,000, will be funded from her personal savings.

"One of the reasons I waited so long to do this is that I am very financially responsible," she said. "I wanted to make sure that I not only had the funds to make this happen but also a relatively cushy safety net in case something were to go wrong, or we didn't make money for a year or something."

On Thursday, Cruz and one of her employees, Sarah Labancz, were huddled outside the storefront. Cruz was perched on a 5-gallon paint bucket, hovering over her laptop. Working offers distraction and normalcy in the midst of chaos, Cruz said, but most importantly, it allows her to make money.

"I feel so badly for some places that can only work within their space and can't generate any revenue and continue to do their work," she said. "And I'm sure that's really frustrating because I can stay busy and keep my brain occupied."

Farrell's on the Island

Farrell's on the Island manager Marissa Tutterow considers the deli's owner and employees a second family. She's worked at Farrell's for eight years, beginning at age 19. When her father died, owner Todd Farrell became a father figure to her.

Farrell's lost about $50,000 worth of equipment and fixtures, including two ice cream coolers and two sandwich stations. In total, Tutterow estimates the deli's losses at $75,000.

"It really is a big hit for me, as well as seeing him struggle," Tutterow said, gesturing to Farrell, who was seated in the deli's front window. "It's really, really hard."

She's hoping the deli can reopen in November.

"We're still trying to figure out what we can salvage," Tutterow said. "It doesn't look like very much."

Farrell's color scheme is green and orange, an homage to the University of Miami Hurricanes. Shelves of 'Canes memorabilia, which sat high above the floodwaters, appear mostly unscathed.

"It's ironic that all the Hurricanes stuff survived," she said.

Islands Pizza

As the storm surge rose inside Islands Pizza, owner John Harr climbed onto his bar. Two customers-turned-friends had stayed with him at the restaurant as Helene pushed storm surge onto Davis Islands.

"Once the water got to the point that it was above my rubber boots, I decided to sit on the bar," he said. "It was like, 'OK, I'm not going to die in here, but it could get very uncomfortable.'"

Harr also owns The Cork Room, which is next door to Islands Pizza. He estimates the repairs will total $100,000, mostly in repairing or replacing equipment lost to the flood. The Cork Room was set to reopen Thursday. He hopes Islands Pizza can reopen by Monday.

"I have a line of credit," he said. "So we'll be pulling on that and not making any money for a long time."

The lack of resources for businesses affected by Helene has been frustrating, Harr said. His businesses were already down after a slow summer.

"Ultimately, there is no help for businesses," he said. "It's 'Oh, you can take out a loan.' That's the only help. And it's like, well, who wants that? More debt? Restaurants work on a 2% to 5% margin, most of them."