Recovering Capitola businesses open and ready for visitors as 4th of July approaches

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV)-With the 4th of July weekend approaching, businesses in Capitola are hoping for a busy holiday as they continue their recovery process after the flooding months ago.

“[We're] just happy that we're open again, and just the Village is back to business," Zelda's on the Beach Kitchen Manager Joshua Whitby said. "I think part of it is people are not really sure that Capitola is open again. The weather's really what's the driving factor on that.”

After half a million dollars in storm repair, his restaurant Zelda's on the Beach is hoping for a busy holiday weekend. However, he says it’s been a bit slower than usual for this time of year.

The local chamber of commerce tells me, they want people to know businesses are ready to welcome visitors.

"It's a misconception that Capitola let isn't what it used to be, because it's better than ever.” Capitola Soquel Chamber of Commerce CEO Carrie Arnone said.

Arnone went on to say it's difficult to predict what the rest of the summer will look like for businesses. However, many people visiting the area were pleasantly surprised by what they saw.

“We were a little bit worried because we've been planning this trip for a while and we thought maybe a lot of the restaurants would be closed. So we were pleasantly surprised to see that Capitola that reopened so quickly," visitor Laura Doran said.

"We were actually just talking about how it was all flooded and everything. And we're interested to see how everything looks now," visitor Cat Williams said.

In terms of how these businesses are doing so far this summer, the Chamber of Commerce said they are in a good spot and looking forward to bringing in more visitors for the holiday weekend.