TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Julianne Causey was the owner of Isle of Style, a consignment store on Treasure Island.
ABC Action News first interviewed her back in October, just days after Hurricane Helene hit Florida.
Her shop was filled with mud and debris. Most things were ruined after Hurricane Helene slammed several feet of water inside.
She lives just a few minutes away. Her home was also damaged by water.
“You know when you have 10 inches of damage in your house, pretty much all of your furniture is ruined, all of your appliances are ruined, all of your air conditioning, your pool pump, your pool heater. I mean, pretty much you have to gut your house,” said Causey.
We wanted to check in on how things were going now, three months later, so we caught up with Causey at her house. She’s still working on fixing things there.
“I mean, you can see we’re still doing construction in the bedroom, and we’re still working on baseboards and painting and sanding. The kitchen... needs backsplash, and my oven still does not work,” said Causey.
So many things are still not the same.
“It’s still kind of a jumbled mess. We’re still trying to work it all back in… it’s not easy. It definitely isn’t,” said Causey.
We didn’t meet up at her store this time because she had to shut it down.
“The tourists are not back. And really I couldn’t afford my rent because you really need tourists and locals to buy from you, to stay in business. And there’s hotels that are still not open, lots of them,” said Causey.
Things here just aren’t back to normal.
“Unfortunately, a lot of businesses can’t afford to stay open with no business coming in like at least what they had,” said Causey.
Although she had to close her consignment shop, Causey tries to find the silver lining.
“It was something that I always dreamed of doing and I got to do it. Not many people get to do what they dreamed about doing,” said Causey.
She works to stay positive even after dealing with so much.
“It’s a trauma when you go through something like this and so you have to pick up the pieces and try to pick your spirits up,” said Causey.
“Yes, you can cry, and you can be upset, and you should when terrible things happen to you. But you can’t let that be how you’re going to be the rest of your life,” she added.
Now, she’s looking ahead to what’s next.
“I know that there’s been a door closed but that there’s a lot of doors out there, and another one is going to open, and maybe it’s going to be better than I’ve ever dreamed... I’m open for my next dream. Which I’m not sure what it’ll be yet,” said Causey.
“My husband was like, 'So what’s on your list? You know, of things you want to do next?' And I said, well, I’d like to work for ABC Action News,” she shared.
You never know.
But there’s one thing she knows for sure.
“This is my happy place… it’s going to be okay, everything is going to be okay,” said Causey.
