FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WINK) — More than four years after Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach, one local business is working to make a comeback.
The Goodz is rebuilding, but owner Graham Belger kept his business running in a unique way. Hurricane Ian left a lasting mark on Fort Myers Beach, forcing businesses like The Goodz to start over.
Belger has been running The Goodz out of trailers since the storm. He said it’s been a long time coming to finally rebuild the store to what it once was.
“It didn’t seem real. You know, it took a while for that to really sink in. But yeah, you know, as you can imagine, it was just it was devastating. It was it was hard, you know. We had we had to do a lot to to come back, so hasn’t been easy,” Belger said.
The Goodz has been a staple in the Fort Myers Beach community since 2013. Belger runs an ice cream shop, gift shop and even a hardware store.
He said it was all under one roof, but after Hurricane Ian, he had to become innovative on how to bring the business back. Belger grew up on Fort Myers Beach, living there for more than 40 years.
“We had a 6,000 square foot building there before, so it was a general store, hardware store, gift shop, ice cream, everything, all in one. Yeah, so we had to, you know, figure out how to do it here. So we have multiple trailers to make it work,” Belger said.
He said rebuilding the new store will help bring new life to the area. The cost of bringing the store back is well worth it, according to Belger.
“Millions and millions and millions of dollars, so you know I’ve got quite I’ll have quite a big mortgage there,” Belger said. “The new pier should be completed right around that same time, so I’m really excited for that. That’s going to bring a lot of people back to the island.”
Belger said the support from the community has meant everything. He expects The Goodz new building will be built by August of next year.