ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Pete Beach has another restaurant they can add to their list for reopened businesses.

This week, Café Soleil opened their doors to customers after being shut down for the last three months.

We first told you about how the French pastry shop managed to survive the storm surge during Hurricane Helene but received extensive damage during Hurricane Milton.

The damage forced them to shut their doors, but the community helped get them back on track, raising more than $25,000 in a fundraiser online.

That money allowed them to pay their building rent, keep staff members on, and get their doors back open.

“When we first opened that door, and customers had been waiting for months to see us. There was so much love," said Café Soleil owner Lauren Chezaud.

Customers like Bill Tucker say the outpouring of support is no surprise.

“It’s obviously a helpful sign to the community at-large to see somewhere like this be able to survive it, and it’s a great sign that the community stepped to the plate on that GoFundMe,” he said.

Chezaud said knowing there are so many homeowners and businesses on the beach still waiting for permits and being one of the few restaurants now back open on the beach, she’s allowing some local small business owners to sell their products at the café.