CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — St. Johns Tavern is open again, and owner Greg Thompson can’t believe his eyes.
“I mean, this is a sigh of relief just to see we’re back up and running,” Thompson said.
Seeing the restaurant now, you would never know the popular Crystal River watering hole was full of water just days ago.
Hurricane Helene submerged it and much of downtown.
“We come back in, dried the place out, brought the equipment back in, here we are,” said Thompson.
A few doors down, Kane’s Cattle Co. is still a work in progress. Owner Morgan Sundberg and her staff are still knee-deep in repairs.
“Our first and foremost, you know, getting the drywall out. Getting the insulation out,” Sundberg said.
Luckily, two of her other restaurants in town are now dry, open again, and able to serve customers who she’s eager to serve.
“It is very, very important right now to be supporting local as much as you can,” Sundberg said.
She needs their support, because getting her main restaurant open again will take money, sweat, and time — maybe 90 days — after the historic flooding.
But with the water now gone, resiliency is on the menu here at Kane’s and across Crystal River as downtown slowly starts coming back to life.
“It gives you the hope from going home in tears,” Sundberg said.
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