In Cape Coral lies the ashy remains of what once was The Boathouse.
"If you minted a coin that was going to be Southwest Florida, you could put The Boathouse on the other side of it," said general manager Jay Collins.
He's seen tragedy follow this place time and time again.
"All I could do was stand in the parking lot with everyone else and watch it burn," said Collins.
The Boathouse was once destroyed by Hurricane Ian and then by Hurricane Milton. Just one day after it reopened, it burnt to the ground.
"It's really hard to describe," said Collins. "It's almost like losing a family member."
The employees are like family, too. About 115 employees worked together under the iconic tiki roof.
"This is my home away from home," said Ashley, a displaced waitress for the staple restaurant. "This is how I support my kids."
Once a safe haven for Ashley, it now carries uncertainty.
"It's hard, it's going to be hard," said Ashley. "I don't think it's going to be easy for anybody who worked here, but we're going to get through it. We're going to do it."
Sometimes, an unexpected blessing is right around the corner.
Kyle Sherman of Hooked Island Bar & Grill in the Cape opened his doors to The Boathouse employees for temporary work.
Sherman knows Collins and some employees well after managing a different Boathouse location.
"It hits home when, you know, you went to war with those people for a while," said Sherman.
Sherman did not hesitate to reach out to Collins when he heard the news. Sherman recounts that he told Collins, "Honestly, I will try to give them the best home, so when you reopen, they don't want to leave, but I would expect them to."
So, while The Boathouse has been knocked down, this family is full of fighters.
"I can't wait," said Ashley. "It's going to be great to have everybody back together again, to be back home."
"We've done it before," said Collins. "We can do it again."
The South Cape Hospitality and Entertainment Association is hosting a pub crawl with 10 participating restaurants, including Hooked Island Bar & Grill in Cape Coral, on Saturday, Nov. 9, and 100% of the proceeds will benefit The Boathouse employees. You can purchase tickets to the pub crawl
here
.