PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A St. Pete Beach restaurant hit hard by Hurricane Helene is not only back open — it is expanding.
The Helm restaurant owners Heidi and Michael Butler were hit by the same storm at their restaurant in St. Pete Beach and their restaurant in South Carolina.
Their cameras captured dramatic video of floodwater rising inside their St. Pete Beach location.
Since then, the couple got rid of the South Carolina business and expanded.
“Well, the business in South Carolina, we ended up closing. We had to choose between businesses, and this one was established, and we decided to stay here where our roots are,” Heidi said.
Those roots ended up spreading right across the street to what was once a pizza restaurant, now closed and up for sale because of the same storm. They said they didn’t hesitate to purchase it.
“Unfortunately, this restaurant didn’t reopen after the hurricanes. So, it’s kinda always been, like, my eye’s been on this place. Like I could see us having both of these places at some point, and it just worked out,” she said.
They’re about a week away from opening a larger restaurant right across the street from their current location, and they’re turning their current location into a separate business.
“We’re gonna do a retail store, very similar to a Williams Sonoma, high-end cooking, kitchenware, china, glassware, silverware, giftware, some St. Pete Beach souvenirs. In addition to that, we will host cooking classes, sometimes arts and craft classes,” said Heidi.
The couple is calling their new business, The Scullery, a British colonial term that means butler’s pantry. They’ve promised their new location will still include the lobster rolls, nautical décor, and fresh seafood they’re known for.