SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A restaurant in St. Armands that has been a staple for over 25 years is struggling to recover after being flooded by two hurricanes.

As the owner waits on insurance money to rebuild, he has found another way to keep serving customers.

This restaurant was the heart of one family’s calling. When storm surge from both Helene and Hurricane Milton flooded their building, they felt all was lost. But now, their legacy is back in action — on wheels.

Simone Salustri never imagined serving his family’s recipes on the road.

Cooking is a skill he inherited as a kid growing up in Rome.

“We are all chefs in our family. My father has been running restaurants, cooking all his life,” he said.

Since October, he has been dishing out meals with his fiancée, Amber, out of his food truck called Buonissimo.

It’s an idea he had since his restaurant in St. Armands, Le Colonne, was flooded during the storms, leaving more than five feet of water inside.

But the food truck is helping.

He says it is a way to make money since the restaurant has been closed.

And also a way to pay for the repairs.

“I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have the food truck. Soon, payments were coming up, and everything was coming up,” he said.

He says it was a one-two punch. After Helene, they started rebuilding, but then Milton came.

“After the second storm, we had no funds left, and we really had to wait. We sat back waiting for insurance,” he said.

The restaurant was also looted twice.

Simone says between the hurricanes and the looters, he’s lost millions of dollars and is still waiting on insurance money.

For now, he’s holding on to what he has left.

“This place means everything to me. It’s all my life,” he said. Which is why he’s working hard to continue his legacy.