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HERNANDO BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — A Hernando County restaurant owner said it’s hard to put his feelings into words after an overnight fire left his business closed again after Hurricane Helene sent three feet of water into his restaurant just four months ago.
“Overwhelmed,” Brian’s Place Owner Brian Alverez said. “We’ve been through a lot.”
Community members in Hernando Beach told 8 On Your Side Alverez is the walking definition of perseverance.
Cooking has been Alverez’s passion since he was 15 years old.
Twenty-one years ago, he opened up his own restaurant, Brian’s Place, in Hernando Beach.
It’s a moment he described as a dream come true.
But in September, Hurricane Helene sent an unprecedented storm surge into his restaurant, putting him out of business for months.
“We took major, catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene,” he said. “We took over 3 feet of water in the restaurant, and we just had the restaurant redone.”
Alverez said he poured his heart and soul into renovations and finally opened his doors a few weeks ago.
“Business was not that great when we opened up because it was cold,” he explained. “But last week the weather got better, and people started coming out.”
“We had a great week, and we thought things were on the rise,” he continued. “But then we get a phone call around five this morning that the restaurant is on fire.”
Crews said the fire broke out in the back of the building, damaging the walls, the roof, and the hood system.
“It’s surreal,” he explained. “It’s like Hurricane Helene all over again, losing everything.”
Now, employees and customers alike are in shock.
“I was just here Friday night,” Joanne Serkey, a longtime patron of Brian’s Place, said. “It’s horrible.”
“It’s just horrific,” she continued. “This man, he put so much work into renovating his restaurants after the hurricanes out here.”
“He just reopened recently,” Serkey said. “He put just as much effort into his renovation after the storm as he does into his menu.”
“It’s heartbreaking,” she concluded.
Fire crews said the blaze appears to have started from an electrical issue inside of the wall.