Hope in the eye of a storm

When Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, 2022, in southwestern Florida, it was the strongest hurricane to hit the state since Michael in 2018. As a gateway to southwest Florida and a major tourist destination, the Fort Myers Beach community suffered significant damage. Among the businesses impacted were three stores owned by independent retailer Anita Cereceda, and because of the shoreline, only one, The Islander, can be rebuilt.

Cereceda, who also lost the contents but not the structure of her 1926 cottage home to 8 feet of stormwater, is far from alone in her journey toward reopening The Islander. The tight-knit Fort Myers Beach community was devastated by the hurricane and recovery for retailers is moving slowly.

Amid the chaos, the Heart on Main Street team, in partnership with Indie & Main, awarded Cereceda with its first grant by presenting her with a check for $10,000 to help in the rebuilding process. The Dallas Market Center will also host her later in the year during one of its shows.

A deserving recipient

With her many years in retail, Cereceda has strong vendor relationships. So, when Sue Larmon, territory manager with the OneCoast, Mud Pie Sales Division, told her to answer a call from someone named Patrick, she took note.

“She said, ‘I know you’ve got a lot going on. I can’t tell you anything because I really don’t know the details, but I want you to answer the phone or return the call when somebody named Patrick calls you from Heart on Main Street,’” Cereceda says.

“So, the next day, lo and behold, I got a call from Patrick. He introduces himself, tells me about the Heart on Main Street program, and what he’s been doing. And then he proceeds to tell me that I was chosen as their first recipient of a $10,000 grant. I was absolutely blown away,” she says of her conversation with Heart on Main Street Executive Director Patrick Keiser.

Keiser presented the check in person at the store site. “Then I got to actually meet him, which was wonderful, and Sue, my sales rep, met me there, too,” she says. “It was all very emotional and lovely, and I was just so grateful. And quite honestly, now I’ve been following that Heart on Main Street page and listening to the podcast and it has helped me tremendously, being inspired by it all.”

Keiser says the group couldn’t have found a more deserving recipient. “Anita isn’t just a retailer in Fort Myers Beach, she is a staple in the community. When I first started looking into her businesses and her story, I was brought to her Facebook page, which has been a source of inspiration for the town over the past seven months. She consistently went live to talk to her community, and thousands of people tuned in to watch.”

Keiser says despite losing three businesses and her home, she kept talking about the sunny days ahead. He said she informed her community on news and progress from federal recovery efforts, and that she spoke about best practices in dealing with insurance companies and what to look for in other companies offering to help to avoid scams.

A retail community

Cereceda has a long history in the Fort Myers Beach retail community. After her father retired from the Sysco food company in 1985, he opened the Pier Peddler with her mother. With both parents gone, Cereceda took over the store, and it would have celebrated its 38th anniversary had it not been destroyed in the storm.

“Anita isn’t just a retailer in Fort Myers Beach, she is a staple in the community.” — Patrick Keiser, Heart on Main Street

In 2003, she opened Local Color. “It was just a beautiful, wonderful, artsy store, and it was also completely demolished. This is a building that was built to hurricane code. It was built in 2003, but it went down into rubble. There was virtually nothing left to recover,” she says.

Cereceda opened The Islander in 2017. She will use the $10,000 grant for a cash wrap area and its computers, phones and furnishings.

“I talked it over with my store manager and told her that I wanted to be reminded every day about the generosity of others and pay it forward! The smallest acts of kindness help every day. The Heart on Main Street donation will be our starting point,” she says.

Cereceda is unsure when The Islander will reopen. The store is located at the south end of the island in the Santini Marina Plaza Shops, which is a concrete block structure.

“The structure survived, but all the businesses in the plaza were demolished by storm surge. So, the water just kind of rushed through, and everything had glass fronts. You can imagine what the plaza looks like. It was just completely demolished,” she says. With the hurricane glass in, and a new roof on the plaza, she says “there’s a little bit of hope there.”

An impactful presence

According to the Heart on Main Street’s website, the organization launched in 2022 with a goal to help retailers evolve and to help create more sustainable businesses in local communities. Keiser says Heart on Main Street wants to help as many retailers as possible. The organization will continue to support retailers affected by natural disasters but will use other funds it raises to invest in programs like grants and mentorships, Keiser says.

“We also have a significant focus on education and have been hosting monthly webinars for retailers, and we will have an in-person education event this summer. We plan to have in-person education events during each show season,” he says.

A strategy of hope

Cereceda waited out the storm at her sister’s home about 20 miles from the beach. At another time of crisis for the family, one of her sisters told her that hope can be a strategy, which is an idea Cereceda has embraced. “From that moment on, I’ve had a little piece of paper somewhere that I would see that says, ‘Hope is a strategy.’”

“The smallest acts of kindness help every day. The Heart on Main Street donation will be our starting point and something every employee knows about and is reminded of daily!”
— Anita Cereceda, The Islander

Cereceda also finds a beacon of hope from her fellow retailers. She met the owner of Babe’s in Lakeland, Florida, while attending trade shows, and the woman has been posting images and videos from Atlanta Mart.
“It just has lit me up. I feel like I’m living vicariously through her. And so that’s been a high point. I sent her a message on Facebook and thanked her for it,” she says.

For Cereceda, these small signs of hope are a strategy to get through times of difficulty.
“You just have to pay attention, and quite honestly, you have to make a conscious effort with it because it does not come easily,” she says.