Sanibel Island businesses are grappling with recovery and insurance issues nearly two years after a major storm.
"If I look at us two years later, I also see that we've got a long way to go," said Sanibel Councilwoman Holly Smith.
Smith shared her thoughts last week at the newly opened Lighthouse Cafe on Sanibel.
"We've probably got, you know, when you look at a four- to five-year recovery, that, that the goalpost kind of keeps moving," she said.
Smith remains optimistic about the recovery process but acknowledges the difficulties for business owners, especially with most of the island's resorts still closed.
"Because for some people, like we're here at the Lighthouse Cafe and you know, they're they're struggling a little," said Dan Billheimer, the owner of the Lighthouse Cafe.
"They want more people to come out to the island. So you're kind of trying to come up with new ways to get people to come here," Billheimer said.
Billheimer recently opened his popular restaurant in a new and bigger space on Periwinkle Drive. He appreciates the council's efforts to adapt to new norms and change rules to help business owners rebuild.
"What do I need most right now? Heads and beds," he said.
"I need, I need, I need captured tourism, I think would be the biggest help. And, you know, not just for me, but I think for all businesses similar to me, if I'm not mistaken, I believe it was 1200 captured tourists in that could stay on the island," said Billheimer.
While the council is doing what it can to support island businesses, Smith identifies the biggest obstacle as the ongoing insurance debacle.
"Well, I, I look at the storm being, you know, the first and biggest hit that we have," she said.
"But now people who have not settled on that for their insurance, both businesses and residents, that's a crisis. It is a true crisis. And I don't know where the answer is. I know so many have lost their insurance. They have not been renewed," she said.
Smith herself is still waiting for her insurance claim to be paid, and the high cost of insurance is driving families and business owners away from the island.
"Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I, I'm, I'm a resident, just like anyone else," she said.
"And (I) have done my due diligence to provide everything to do everything right. And here we are. You know, almost 700 days later that I'm paying double to try to get a resolution to what I thought should have been covered in the beginning. And I still see grown adults cry over what they are still going through," she said.