Treasure Island restaurants to get a much-needed break

More than four months after Hurricane Milton tried to turn the Gulf of Mexico on its ear, inundating the coast with water and sand, many business in Treasure Island remain closed. The cleanup, the restoration – and the heartaches – never seem to end.

Milton, of course, was the third and final punch in a barrage of 2024 hurricane injury that left this tiny Pinellas community, which relies heavily on tourist money, damaged and hurting.

In a move meant to provide Treasure Island restaurant owners a glimmer of hope, the City Commission unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday allowing them to set up shop outdoors, on their properties, and serve patrons using food trucks, tents and temporary restroom facilities.

This way, businesses can operate on a temporary basis while the permanent structures are being repaired.

Ordinance 2025-01 calls for a change to the Land Development Regulations’ special events section, which allows for outdoor events (up to four per year) at each business, limited to nine days each. This generally refers to weekend charity or arts events.

The change will allow businesses up to six months outdoors, with certain conditions met. Extensions will be possible.

There will be a second reading at the commissioners’ March 4 meeting. Although the ordinance was approved, it was decided to amend it with provisions for potential hits from the 2025 hurricane season. It will go into effect as soon as the commission approves the second reading.

Mayor John Doctor was the first to suggest amending the ordinance as written. “We waited four months until we’ve done something, so we just need to be acting a little quicker,” he said. “So that if we have another disaster, we can get something put in place so that they can open up even sooner than what we’re doing now.”

Added commissioner Diana Crabill: “We don’t want to hold them up any more. We want them to be able to be open and get business going. It’s their livelihood – and those of us living here, we want them back too.”

Although some Treasure Island restaurants have already re-opened in the wake of Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, many more continue to struggle.

“This is going to help out a lot of families,” Marcus Winters, owner of Caddy’s, told the commissioners. “There’s a lot of people ready to come back to work.

“We got quite a bit of damage down there. We’re lucky enough we have space where we can do this, do it safely, provide parking. It will mean the future for us as a business.”

The Treasure Island restaurant Ricky T’s will re-open Feb. 28. Photo: Facebook.