REDINGTON SHORES, Fla. — A Pinellas County couple bought a candy shop in May and nearly four months later, Hurricane Helene destroyed their hard work.
Bob and Pam Hoffman own The Candy Kitchen on Redington Beach. The original location was established in 1950 in Madeira Beach.
"We had the interior of our store covered with signatures because all of the walls were signed by people from the last 20 years," Bob said. "They come in and they get a Sharpie. They’d come back on vacations and see where they signed. That’s all gone now because it was a total loss."
The couple said storm surge from Helene in September brought nearly 7 feet of water into the building.
Their equipment was destroyed, along with all the products like candy and ice cream.
"You drive down to John’s Pass and there’s nothing," Bob said. "In fact, you come on the island at night, it’s quite different than what we’ve experienced in the past. There are obviously residents who decided to stay but there are no vacationers. Coming down Gulf Boulevard, the amount of debris that was in front of everybody’s house, the fact that all their worldly belongings had been carried to the end of their driveway was surreal."
The couple has been overwhelmed by the generosity of customers, friends and strangers.
Bob said the hurricane damaged an antique Coke dispenser in the store and somebody offered to fix it for free.
"A local resident reached out to us and said, 'Hey, I've been coming to the Candy Kitchen my entire life. I'm a huge coke collector. Can I come pick that up and fix it for you?'" Bob said.
A GoFundMe page is also collecting donations to help the couple rebuild. They said they did not have flood insurance.
"We took a calculated risk," Bob said. "We've owned other businesses in the past. They wanted north of $30,000 for basically a 750-square-foot store, so we didn't anticipate having this type of a challenge this early in our ownership of the business."
The couple has painted the walls of the store and ordered new equipment. They hope to reopen before the Thanksgiving holiday.
"We have people stopping every day and making donations and asking if they can help in any way." Bob said. "We're just anxious to get back open and be part of this community."
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.
