CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla — The beaches continue to attract spring breakers who want to enjoy sun and sand and a good bite to eat.
“It has been amazing, booming, customers everywhere, everyone enjoying themselves,” said Johnny, a manager at Frenchy’s south beach cafe.
“It’s been pretty busy, it’s spring break time we’ve got a lot of Phillies fans in, the beach has been absolutely packed,” Corey Opalka said. He’s the manager of Crabby’s bar and grill.
It’s a welcome sight for restaurants and businesses devastated by the Pandemic in 2020.
“I really feel for our service staff because they went 4-5 months without any income and here we are, they’re killing it,” said Opalka.
Making money too. It’s a stark difference from last year when many places were either closed or only open for curbside pick-up.
“It feels good,” Opalka said. “It kind of feels like we’re getting a little bit of a sense of normalcy back. I remember last year we were cleaning all these tables and the beach was dead, it was really eerie. Now we see people out and about and it’s really nice.”
But, places like Crabby’s and Frenchy’s say they are still taking safety very seriously. They still space out tables and make sure all employees wear masks.
Another sign the beaches are busy —— the parking lots are full. If you don’t want to spend an hour tracking down a parking spot take the Clearwater ferryfrom either downtown Clearwater or Dunedin.
It’s a beautiful boat ride and docks just across the street from Clearwater beach!