Pictured: Cariloha Sarasota is back to business thanks to dedicated employees and a loyal customer base. Photo courtesy Jeff Snell.

Cariloha Sarasota, the St. Armands store, known for carrying some of the softest and most sustainable products on the planet, had nearly three feet of water in the store from Hurricane Helene. “We lost most of our major fixtures, electronics, office equipment, store supplies, marketing materials and about two thirds of our inventory,” says store owner, Jeff  Snell. “The lower part of the walls were damaged and the raised wood floor was also destroyed.”

In the two weeks before Hurricane Milton, Snell had removed all of the damaged items. Milton resulted in about the same amount of water in the store but since everything was already removed, this just basically delayed the cleanup and restoration process. Luckily, the glass windows and door were not damaged at all. As for the inside of the store, the owner of our building had all of the damaged drywall and flooring removed.

Since the storms, the damaged drywall has been replaced, the store has been repainted and a new tile floor has been installed. “Unfortunately for us, during the process of painting, the contractors literally removed everything else that was in the store, even what was not damaged by the hurricanes. We were not expecting to have to do a completely new buildout, replacing or reinstalling everything, but that’s where we are now,” adds Snell. “Amazingly, all of our employees are coming back. They worked very hard helping us get all of the damaged items out of the store initially and are helping us get everything put back together.”

Snell had applied for an SBA Loan as soon as the store opened up after Hurricane Helene. “We were actually working with the SBA on our application while we were evacuated during Hurricane Milton. Unfortunately our application was put on hold when the SBA ran out of funds,” he shares. “Losing two and half months of income has been financially devastating and it is because of receiving the Emergency Bridge Loan funds that we were able to keep going and can now reopen. Over the years we have grown a large and loyal customer base. We have been communicating with them by email while we have been closed and they have been calling us to place orders, which we have shipped to them from the main warehouse. This of course hasn’t made up for the revenue lost from being closed, but it will help us replace some of the inventory that was damaged.”

On Sunday, December 22, just in time for last minute holiday shopping, Snell happily reported that Cariloha Sarasota was once again open for business.

Pictured: Cariloha Sarasota is back to business thanks to dedicated employees and a loyal customer base. Photo courtesy Jeff Snell.