Naples Winn-Dixie to reopen eight months after Hurricane Irma

It has been more than eight months since Hurricane Irma hit Southwest Florida and yet blue tarps can still be seen on rooftops across hard-hit areas.

Golden Gate Estates resident Krista Schluderman lost part of her roof to Irma and has not been able to make the repairs necessary to keep rain out of her home.

“We’ve patched. We’ve checked the tarp. It’s down good, but there’s still water coming in just a little bit here and there, but still a concern,” Schulderman said.

Local stores are also still working to repair the extensive damages Irma left behind.

The Winn-Dixie on Collier Boulevard at Vanderbilt Beach Road is finally set to reopen its doors at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.

“I’ve seen a lot of stores that were damaged by the hurricane, but this was pretty bad. We had front doors that blew all the way to the meat department to the back of the store,” said Joey Medina, Regional Vice President of Winn-Dixie.

The store was completely flooded, large windows were blown out and inventory was destroyed.

“Everything is replaced and new. It’s all new inventory, but we’ve also taken the opportunity to update the facade,” Medina said.