How Capitola businesses are doing after Memorial Day weekend

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION) - Shops along the coast are expecting big business over Memorial Day Weekend.
Capitola is no different, and it's some much needed relief for businesses suffering major damage after flooding caused extensive damage in the village.

Dominick King, owner of My Thai Beach Restaurant says, "We just kind of sprinted as quickly as we could to to kind of get the bare minimum to open."

Visitors rushed to the Central Coast for Memorial Day weekend in hopes of catching some of the sunshine and beauty that comes with the local beaches.

A few visitors from around the area who heard about the town falling victim to this years storm were shocked to see how fast businesses were able to flip that closed sign to open.

"It's it's really nice to see everything kind of come back up and lively. yes, it's a nice rebound," said a visitor.

"No I did not expect to open back up, I'm kinda surprised they opened up," said Wenjun Ma a visitor from San Jose.

Many businesses saying it was their goal since the beginning to open up before memorial day weekend because they hoped foot traffic was going to be heavy like years prior.

"It was less people than expected, but that's okay. again, I think people are still getting the news that that, you know, we're reopening again," said King.

Some, putting the blame on the unexpected gloomy weather. "It's a little bit quieter than some memorial days in the past. But also the weather was not hitting as it normally does. So that that can always be a deterrent," said the manager at Paradise Beach Grill.

"While this weekend was a boost, it's not the the former glory that it once was. but we're hoping that once the weather picks out, once kind of news gets out, that all the businesses are open here again," said King.

King says they have not received any funding from the state, ultimately slowing down their recovery process.

"There's still a few more things that we'll need to do and we're still working on doing. but again, funding is limited, so we're going to have to wait," said King.
Although business owners say the state hasnt helped yet, the city has helped them in the recovery process by waiving permits for businesses remodeling.

The city of Capitola is expecting construction at the Capitola Wharf to be completed by summer of next year.