Reporter: Brinkley Hill
•7/1/2026
LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK)—Extreme weather tore through the McGregor area Tuesday night, sending chairs flying and knocking out power.
Buckett's Wings & More shared a video with WINK News, showing even their 50-pound umbrella stands thrown across their parking lot and patio area.
Owner Zach Walter described the sudden intensity of the weather.
"Just a consistent roar with some of the loudest and intense thunder and lightning I've ever heard," Walter said. " Very comparable to the strongest winds from Hurricane Ian."
Just before happy hour, Walter's restaurant was filled with a Tuesday trivia team and a Little League group celebrating the end of a season.
"No one was expecting anything, and then all of a sudden it went from, like I said, a normal day with a little bit of wind to chaos outside," Walter said.
The power shut off for hours, forcing Walter to send customers to another restaurant. The business lost roughly $2,500 in revenue from missing those couple of hours.
The damage was contained to a server's car. Walter said the restaurant will cover the repair costs.
Down the street, Divine Donuts had to throw away a batch of unfinished donuts on Tuesday night. The shop was unable to open on Wednesday morning because of a continued power issue.
"We already lost all our donuts from last night, and now if we don't get to start baking here soon, we're not gonna be open again tomorrow because we won't have anything to sell," owner Eddie Nobles said.
Nobles estimated that his store lost $1,000 in revenue and could lose the same, if not more, if the business remains closed on Thursday. He said the situation is particularly difficult during the off-season.
"Very frustrating. 'Cause I mean, in off-season, I mean, every minute open counts pretty much," Nobles said.
Nobles said the power outage is worse for his employees, who will be missing multiple days of work. Many of his workers live paycheck to paycheck.
"I'm even wanting to give up my shift if we get back open tomorrow to let them work it, 'cause I know how hard it is," said Nobles. "I just wanna give up my hours so they can get some work in. 'Cause if they're gonna miss last night, today, and then again tonight, you know, it's not very good," Nobles said.
Buckett's Wings & More reopened, but Divine Donuts remained closed without power.
Florida Power and Light said they're investigating the issue and working to restore power as quickly as possible.
