Capitola Village slowly rebuilding from winter storms

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV)- Debris from this winter's storms can still be seen along Capitola Beach, but people tell me, they're making the most of the situation.

Many businesses in Capitola Village were forced to close after January's storms devastated the area.

Pizza My Heart is one of the few that are back to serving food. Supervisor Yesica Guzman talked about how it felt to get back to work.

“It's actually really great to be back because we didn't think we'd be gone for so long,” Guzman said. “We were closed for over a month and just being back felt great and then seeing all our regular customers come back was also really awesome.”

Once the restaurant reopened, they started doing what they can to help other businesses who are still rebuilding.

“And then we also have a fundraiser shirt that was being sold,” Guzman said. “So we had a lot of people come by and start buying that shirt as well. Some of the funds are going towards the restaurants for recovery.”

This revitalization isn’t just exciting for businesses. People living in the area like Mario Beltramo are excited to see glimpses of the old Capitola.

“People are coming in and once again enjoying the community, enjoying our beautiful Capitola and it's just wonderful,” Beltramo said. “It's wonderful to see it coming back.”

Even though Beltramo was sad to see how much damage her area suffered, he saw the positive from the situation saying…

“At the same time, it was great to see once that it did happen, the community coming together and doing its part to make this tragedy into something that was actually good in the sense of bringing the community together. “

The city has plans in place to fully rebuild and restore Capitola Village.

“They've got plans in place to make this whole area just as scenic and as beautiful and as picturesque as everyone remembers it being when they were kids growing up,” Beltramo said.

In the meantime, people and businesses are doing their best to help each other recover. 

“We try to spread the word as well when it is going to occur, so we let other people know like, hey, you know what, let's keep an eye out because it will be real soon,” Guzman said. “So I think a lot of people are pushing to be open by summer.”

Businesses on the Capitola Wharf are still closed and the wharf itself is also closed off to the public. 

The second phase of the Wharf Resiliency and Public Access Improvement Project is expected to begin this summer.