Back in January, What Now reported on the then-upcoming opening of Grove Surf Cafe in Indian Rocks Beach . The cafe is a sister location to Grove Surf + Coffee , a surf shop and specialty cafe in St. Pete Beach .
Grove Surf Cafe went on to open successfully, and the two locations were working in tandem, offering specialty coffee and more to their respective communities. Then came Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and the confusion that has followed—as well as the banding together of local people to support their communities and local business.
In the case of Grove Surf Cafe, hurricane damage was minimal. That location has reopened in Indian Rocks Beach . Damage to Grove Surf + Coffee has been much more extensive as a result of flooding, however, as in-depth coverage by St. Pete Rising described recently.
“What’s crazy to me is how fast everything rusted in just a couple of days,” owner Lindsey Gottschling said in the St. Pete Rising coverage. “The saltwater just ate away at it. This shop is going to need to be completely rebuilt.”