It’s shocking that former Mayor Anita Cereceda has not pulled every hair out of her head over the weather whiplash she’s been through over the last two weeks, and the last two years. Tomorrow, it’s a do-over reopening for her shop The Islander in Santini Plaza.
After two years of repairs made to Santini Plaza then the inside of her shop, Anita was finally able to reopen on October 4th. Her original plan to reopen was on the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian (September 28th) but that was delayed due to Hurricane Helene. After two days of operation, Hurricane Milton appeared on the radar and Anita took no chances, on Monday, October 7th, she loaded all of her newly purchased merchandise onto a truck and got out of dodge. Tomorrow it’s take two for the popular retail location in Santini Plaza, the first business to open since Hurricane Ian.
Anita lost 2 stores in Times Square (The Pier Peddler and Local Color), and The Islander in Santini Plaza and her home on Jefferson was also damaged in the storm. We won’t even tell you about the nightmare she went through with the town to replace her fence.
The 2024 Hurricane season ends in 2 weeks and hopefully The Islander opening is the start of a trend to fill Santini Plaza with new businesses, something south end residents are desperately waiting for.
Other businesses that are expected to open in Santini Plaza at some point over the next year include: South Beach Restaurant, New York Pizza & Pasta, Bad Ass Coffee, Nesbit Realty, Off The Hook (fishing apparel), Leoni’s, Sweet Licks Ice Cream and Surf Style. No opening dates have been announced for any of these businesses as of today. Once we know we will announce them on our Facebook page.
Best of luck to her with the new opening! Can’t wait to see it in December!
The official end of hurricane season is actually November 30. But let’s hope for some quiet time.
I’d like to know more about the fence, in time.