WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Alberto hit Florida causing damage to coastal homes and businesses
Rebuilding and cleaning is the top priority for many in St. Marks now that Alberto has moved through. And the businesses in the area are quickly getting things back to normal.
As Alberto tore through Wakulla County, in St. Marks many streets including Riverside Drive flooded.
In the aftermath, you could see chairs scattered and downed signs but spirits weren't down.
"We've come and we've gone through the storms and the Hurricanes," said Phil Cooke, the St. Marks Seafood owner. "With Alberto, we dodged one."
St. Marks Seafood didn't see much damage aside from some flooding on the docks.
"The good lord saved us," Cooke said. "We didn't have as much water as we anticipated which was a good thing, so it's all about clean now."
Next door at Riverside Cafe, cleaning efforts continue.
"When the tide went out last night, we actually started cleaning up last night," said Carrie Walton, a Riverside Cafe waitress. "We had a bunch of water, seaweed, and stuff like that."
Alberto wasn't enough to stop the restaurant that promises good food, good friends and good times.
"We actually thought we were gonna close, but since they kept coming in, we kept staying open," Walton said. "... And they had a good time, they had cocktails and called it a Hurricane Party."
It was a welcomed surprised after a slow and rainy Memorial Day Weekend.
"We lost a lot of business this weekend because people were afraid to come out and be out in the rain and the water and didn't know where the storm was gonna go, so," Walton said. "It should've came another weekend, it would've been much. But in hindsight it's okay, at least we didn't take a big hit."
Now that the storm has passed, it's back to business as normal," Cooke said.
Riverside Cafe and St. Marks Seafood are expecting to reopen Wednesday.
