John’s Pass businesses begin the slow rebuilding process

The gulls and pelicans have returned to John’s Pass as if nothing had happened. But it’ll be a long time before the iconic docks, businesses and shopping village resemble anything approximating pre-Hurricane Helene normal.

“The best way to describe it is just complete devastation,” said Dylan Hubbard, co-owner and fleet captain of Hubbard’s Marina, the oldest business in this tourism-driven corner of Madeira Beach. “It’s horrendous, all of the docks that have been destroyed and all of the boats up on seawalls and in yards.

“And there’s sand everywhere.”

Hubbard’s eight fishing and sightseeing vessels survived the storm, but most of his businesses’ and neighboring docks were ripped apart. Hubbard and members of his staff are among those who’ve been clearing debris and cleaning since Helene left the area early Friday. “We’re very blessed,” he said. “Everybody’s safe and the boats are safe. And we can rebuild the rest.”

Madeira Beach has been without electricity since Sept. 26. Running water was restored at the marina over the weekend.

The Hubbard family has owned the Friendly Fisherman restaurant, adjacent to the John’s Pass boardwalk, since 1978. The lower-level bar was destroyed (“totally flattened,” Hubbard said. “Everything was washed out of there”).

“We got a solid six foot of water in most places, and along the boardwalk it was probably closer to eight foot. So John’s Pass – and Madeira Beach in general – was completely underwater,” he added.

All of the ground-level shops in John’s Pass Village were gutted by the storm surge. Above the boardwalk, shops were “relatively unaffected,” Hubbard said.

“We’ve experienced flooding in the past, and we’ve seen these type of events before. But nothing to this extent. It was insane to first see it – very chilling. But again, I’m trying to stay focused on the positive. Our Hubbard’s Marina family is safe.

“But a lot of our staff members lost everything. We’ve put up a Hurricane Helene page on our website to help folks learn where they can donate stuff, how folks affected can go get donated stuff. And we started a GoFundMe, on that page too, for any of our affected staff.”

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