ANNA MARIA – A few days after Hurricane Milton struck Anna Maria Island, City Pier Grill operator and pier tenant Brian Seymour and his sister, Rebecca, dropped by to view the damage.
During that Oct. 12 visit, Seymour addressed the immediate impacts and future challenges presented by the hurricane ripping away at least 75 yards of the pier walkway and leaving the leased City Pier Grill building and the Mote Marine Science Education and Outreach Center stranded at the T-end of the pier with no walkway access.
“My immediate thoughts are I’m devastated for my employees and staff who it appears aren’t going to have the ability to work out here for at least six months,” he said. “As a business, we can pause everything and wait for the rebuild but our employees need paychecks. They’ve all been notified and they’re starting to job-hunt to supplement their incomes.”
Like Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, Seymour also suspects a waterspout or tornado may have formed during Hurricane Milton and inflicted the damage to the pier.
“As I stand here and look at it the damage is so clean cut,” Seymour said. “I would venture to say 60-100 concrete pilings were pulled right out of the ground. Those pilings were driven 40-feet down. It appears we had a tornado come through here and take everything from about 10 feet off the T-end to about 100 feet from the shore.”
He also noted the utility lines, wastewater pipes and gas lines snapped off as well and he was told Mote Marine removed their live exhibits after Hurricane Helene and before Hurricane Milton.
Seymour’s insights
Seymour also owns and operates the nearby Anna Maria General Store and the Pine Avenue Bait & Tackle shop on Pine Avenue.
He was asked what it’s like to be the owner of multiple businesses impacted by back-to-back hurricanes.
“During Milton, the General Store fared well. We lost our solar hot water system but we have a backup system we can activate. As a business owner, with three of my businesses closed for almost two weeks without revenues, the money’s getting tight. It was already the slow time of year. To have a double-whammy like this is hard, but it’s hard on every business up and down this Island. There’s nothing we can do except clean up, try to recover and move forward,” Seymour said.
Seymour was asked if he and others might reconsider the risks of operating a business on a barrier island prone to flooding and hurricane damage.
“All those thoughts have gone through my head. I don’t want to speak for other business owners but seeing some of the damage up and down the Island it’s hard for me to believe that every business is going to survive this. Some people will question whether it’s worth the risk of having your business and life dependent on a barrier island. During Helene, when I was wading across four feet of water on Pine Avenue, I really thought it might be time to pick a new place to start my life and businesses over. But we got lucky during Helene. I was able to get the City Pier Grill, the General Store and the bait shop reopened within a couple days, but Milton has substantially hurt our business on the pier,” he said.
Seymour also addressed the emotional toll of being an Anna Maria resident and business owner during times like this; and also his current bid to serve as Anna Maria’s next mayor.
“It’s draining, but I love this city and I am still running for mayor. I hope people know that I’m here trying to support the community, the recovery and the rebuild. I’ve come to the personal conclusion that this is where I want my life to be, so I’m going to do everything I can; and I want all my employees to come back to work eventually,” he said.
Seymour was asked if he’s up for the additional challenge, if elected, of overseeing the city’s ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts after longtime Mayor Dan Murphy leaves office in November.
“Absolutely,” he said. “There’s so much to do, but I’m taking notes and watching what Mayor Murphy does. I think he’s done a great job cleaning up Anna Maria, getting the streets open and cleared of debris and getting the utilities back on. If I do win the mayor’s race, hopefully I can use him as a resource. And if Mark Short wins, I hope he reaches out for my assistance because it’s all about our community first. It’s not about who’s the mayor, who’s the vice-mayor and who’s a commissioner. It’s about Anna Maria,” Seymour said.
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