Hurricane Helene crossed six states about two weeks ago. But Milton is expected to stay in Florida. | Photo: Shutterstock.
Restaurant operators across central Florida braced for the expected arrival late Wednesday of another powerful storm, as residents reportedly staged a mass exodus to seek safer ground.
Hurricane Milton was scheduled to hit the Tampa Bay area as a Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, just days after Florida and five other states were hit by Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people.
Milton, however, is expected to hit the western coast of Florida and cross the middle of the state before heading out to the Atlantic.
Throughout the region, cleanup crews were scrambling to remove wreckage from the earlier storm to prevent the debris from being turned into projectiles by Milton’s strong winds. Milton is expected to be a much stronger storm than Helene was in Florida, bringing 10- to 12-foot tidal surge in the Tampa area, double the 6-foot surge during Helene.
As of Tuesday evening, 11 counties in Florida were under evacuation orders with warnings of high winds and flash flooding. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor couldn’t have been more emphatic in her warning in this interview with CNN.
“If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die,” she said.
A number of restaurants pre-emptively closed in anticipation of the storm’s arrival—even Waffle House, which posted its planned closures on X, formerly Twitter.
Keke’s Breakfast Café, for example, a sister brand of Denny’s, planned to temporarily close about 16 locations in phases. Four Gulf coast locations closed on Tuesday, with another 10 scheduled to shut down on Wednesday and two more on Thursday.
Company officials said the status of other restaurants in Florida, as well as reopenings, will depend on the weather forecast, severity of damage and safety of team members. Guests are urged to check their status on social media and at Kekes.com.
The waterfront restaurant Tide Tables on the north end of Sarasota Bay was damaged during Helene when a boat slammed into one of its docks and its tiki bar overlooking the water less than two weeks ago. After only a few days of being up and running for regular business, Tide Tables closed again this week to prepare for Milton, the restaurant posted on Saturday.
Chains like Jersey Mike’s, for example, urged franchisees to follow the company’s Hurricane Best Practice protocol, which is designed to ensure the safety of franchisees, team members and guests. “Our franchisees in the impacted areas are securing their stores inside and out, based on this checklist,” said Hoyt Jones, president of Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems Inc.
After the storm passes, Jersey Mike’s will look for opportunities to help the impacted communities, feeding first responders and others, he said. The chain has a Jersey Mike’s Sub Above Fund offered as a resource to franchisees and team members who are directly impacted by natural disasters (and other circumstances).
Talkin’ Tacos, which has 13 units in Florida, said Tuesday units in the affected areas were being monitored by the hour with staff safety in mind, including working with property managers to minimize damage and preparing marketing content to communicate closures.
“On a store-by-store basis, management is currently in talks with staff to determine the best scheduling decisions,” said Daryl Perez, Talkin’ Tacos’ executive director. “This means that those who live further from their respective stores will be asked to return home until it is safe to return to the workplace—this is determined by communication published by the city mayors.”
Likewise, Stoner’s Pizza Joint, which has 19 units in Florida (and 49 systemwide), was also urging team members to take direction from local authorities.
Scott Mobley, Stoner’s president, said the chain’s units across the southeast are “no strangers to preparing for severe weather,” but the company was working with local stores to be ready.
“We are assessing possible food distribution disruptions, road conditions or pickups and deliveries, and the individual circumstances of each impacted location and their team members,” Mobley wrote in an email.
The company was also seeking guidance from its food distribution network. “Food deliveries are typically paused once wind speeds exceed 40 miles per hour, so we anticipate some of the impacted stores may have received their last delivery,” Mobley wrote.
“Our goal is to open as soon as it is safe in the impacted areas, as we know how important access to food can be in communities following the aftermath,” he added. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and we stand united with our communities as we navigate this storm together.”
Walt Disney World Theme Parks were also scheduled to close on Wednesday, and were expected to remain closed on Thursday, according to posts on its website. So was SeaWorld Orlando and other tourist attractions.
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