Downtown Fort Myers moving on from Ian, giving locals hope

Reporter: Claire Galt Writer: Paul Dolan
Published:

People in Southwest Florida want to have some fun on Friday night in downtown Fort Myers and release the angst from the storm.

Live music, packed restaurants, and friends grabbing drinks is what a normal Friday night looks like in downtown Fort Myers. And that’s exactly what some people wanted, a sense of normalcy.

As people began the Friday migration to the streets, which at other times seemed to be the pulse of the city itself, the area was alive and flourishing.

“I am blown away that there was a hurricane here 2 weeks ago… you could’ve fooled me,” Carter King said.

Two weeks after Ian flooded the streets, people are ready to take back a piece of their lives that was washed away from the storm.

Only a few restaurants and bars are open, but they’re packed with people looking to have a little fun.

“I came from Jupiter and the national news made it look crazy down here so I thought I would come down and everything would still be destroyed,” Macky Pesch said

Christine and Carter King told WINK News they came down to support the local businesses and help them get back on their feet.

“I love seeing people here tonight. We just love supporting the downtown community,” Carter said.

Friday night’s atmosphere gave Christine and Carter a sense of hope for the future.

“Being here tonight is just really encouraging to just see that everybody is pulling up their boat straps and coming together it just looks like everything will be back,” Christine said. “I think everyone is in the mindset that this wasn’t a little hiccup it was a big one but I think everybody will be back.”

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