While Charlotte County works to reopen Englewood Beach, business owners on Manasota Key are making do without the typical foot traffic from beach goers.
The beach has been closed since Helene, when the county began hauling sand into the parking lot that was deposited around the island. After Hurricane Milton, the sand pile grew several feet high and consumed most of the parking lot. Since then, the county has been sifting through the pile, eventually returning the reclaimed sand to the beach.
Watch Fox 4’s Alex Orenczuk report on how businesses on Manasota Key are making do without beach goers:
Manasota Key businesses are bouncing back despite Englewood Beach closure
Like the beach, several businesses on the island are closed for repairs too. The Manasota Key Group owns three restaurants on the island, all of which are still closed post-hurricanes.
“The beach being closed hasn’t affected us directly yet because we are still closed from the Hurricanes,” said Chris Atamanchuk, co-owner of the Manasota Key Group.