TRINITY, Fla. — A Pasco County small business owner is cleaning up a mess following a crash on New Year's Eve.
Estella Myers, owner of Stellie Bellies Trinity Kiddie and Maternity Resale Boutique, said she received a call from the sheriff's office on Wednesday night.
"Somebody boarded up our door. Glass is everywhere and today, this morning, we walked in and ready to just start cleaning up and making it a new," said Myers.
Myers said a crash happened on New Year's Eve night on State Road 54 near Little Road in Trinity.
A tire flew off a truck and into the glass door of her business.
"About 150 feet away, a tire came flying through, uphill, which is crazy and went through the front door of our business. Our alarm didn’t go off because it rolled through and broke all the glass, and glass went everywhere," she added.
She said the Pasco Sheriff's Office called to notify her about the damage. She closed the store on Wednesday and will reopen on Friday, Jan. 3.
She worked with her staff to clean up the mess and remove any baby items that might have been contaminated with shattered glass.
She said Wednesday's accident stirred up memories of a crash from 24 years ago at her first location in St. Petersburg.
"A customer drove right through the front of the store, and my sweet little baby, who is now in college, was in a crib at the front and luckily nothing happened worse," said Myers.
Over the past two decades, Myers has expanded Stellie Bellies Kids, Maternity Resale Boutique. She has three locations including in St. Petersburg and Seminole.
She also operates Curv Exchange, a plus-size resale boutique.
Myers said over the years, she has seen several setbacks including the COVID-19 pandemic. She said online shopping has taken over and made it more difficult to operate a small business.
"We’re just doing our best to navigate this climate of people going to the computer and pushing buy instead of coming in and shopping," she said.
She said the Trinity location has been a part of the community for nearly a decade.
"We buy, sell, and trade baby, kids, and maternity clothes, three days a week. It's been a blessing to our community forever."
"We have to keep going because our customers deserve it. They want to still feel it, touch it, love it. They want a place to come and shop for their baby and their bump, and that's what we're trying to do," she added.
For more information on the resale boutique and its locations, click here.
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