ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — In Pinellas County, many small business owners are still working hard to recover and reopen after back-to-back hurricanes hit their establishments.
One problem many are running into is the Small Business Administration has now run out of funding for loans.
In St. Pete Beach, Ozzie Reyes owns the “Beach Hair Affair” Salon and was hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“Oh, it was total devastation,” said Reyes.
His business has now reopened after a lot of hard work.
“We worked for about 10 to 15 hours a day, for almost over a month,” said Reyes.
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Next door, at the “Gym Grooming Barber Shop” they are still working to put up drywall and to put down new flooring after a storm surge came into the building.
“Actually Helene gave me three feet of water and took me out of business,” said owner Junior Afandor.