DUNEDIN, Fla. — The cleanup continues in areas that flooded in north Pinellas County.

Sylvia Tzekas, owner of Sea Sea Riders restaurant in Dunedin, was able to reopen her restaurant doors Wednesday. But her home in Clearwater suffered extensive water damage.

What You Need To Know

  • Sylvia Tzekas, owner of Sea Sea Riders restaurant in Dunedin, was able to reopen her restaurant doors Wednesday

  • Tzekas' home in Clearwater, though, suffered extensive water damage

  • She is welcoming customers but asking them to be patient, as many are struggling with losses at home

“We had to cut the drywall, that’s how high the water got in there,” Tzekas said of the more than four feet of storm surge that made its way inside.

Tzekas and her husband have spent the days since Hurricane Helene cleaning out the mess, including damaged keepsakes.

“I found my wedding dress,” Tzekas said while tearing up. “Thirty-seven, 38 years ago I had it packed in there and it was soaked.”

Sea Sea Riders owner Sylvia Tzekas shows the damage at her home on Bayside Drive in Clearwater. (Spectrum News/Cait McVey)

Still, Tzekas wanted to get the restaurant open so her staff could get back to work. She is welcoming customers but asking them to be patient, as many are struggling with losses at home.

“If they can be patient we’re here,” said Tzekas. “To talk, to eat. Just to have some sort of normalcy in their lives.”

A number of other restaurants and shops are open in Dunedin. Owners say now is the time to shop local.