SAN LEON, Texas (KTRK) — As Tropical Storm Beryl speeds toward the Texas coast, businesses around Galveston Bay are concerned about a storm surge from the storm hitting the Houston area.
Topwater Grill is located on the bay in San Leon and was flooded with several inches of water during Tropical Storm Alberto last month.
“With the high tide and the wind picking up and a storm raising the water level, we could be up to our knees or waists in water,” owner Robert Yakubas said.
After Hurricane Ike, Jakubas said he installed some hidden drains in his restaurant so anything that gets inside can easily get out.
“We’ll wash it out,” he said. “We might be able to open in four hours after a storm surge. So we’re prepared for that. We’ve been through that many times.”
Fred and Teresita Bartolome have also been business owners in Seabrook for 46 years.
Five businesses were destroyed by Hurricane Ike, leaving only the Pier 8 restaurant and a home health care operation, where he has already begun stacking crates of important documents on his desk in preparation for Beryl.
“It’s really scary. It keeps me up at night thinking about what could happen,” Fred Bartolome said.
Other businesses in Seabrook told Eyewitness News they plan to prepare for the storm surge if they aren’t already.
“I come in at 8 o’clock on a Sunday and just clean up everything that’s on the floor,” said Summer McNutt, who works at Outrigger Seafoods.
“We’re trying to keep it as dry as possible,” Braly Sawyer added.
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