rewrite Bolivar Peninsula businesses recover slowly from Hurricane Beryl in 6 to 8 words

BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas — Nearly eight months after Hurricane Beryl battered the Texas coast, some businesses along the Bolivar Peninsula are still struggling to recover. 

Among them is “Miss Nancy’s Bait Camp,” owned by Nancy Blacksher, who is working tirelessly to prepare for the influx of spring break visitors despite lingering storm damage.

“That water came with such a force,” Blacksher said, recalling the storm’s impact.

The hurricane, which struck from Matagorda Bay to Port Arthur, left widespread destruction. Blacksher’s shop, a longtime staple for locals and tourists near Rollover Pass, sustained significant damage.

“We have decking down there that it just popped right up and open,” she said. “We had grass between our home and the bait camp, and now it’s just all sand.”

Blacksher first opened her business in 2010, two years after Hurricane Ike, providing essential supplies to anglers and visitors. After Beryl, she had to close for two weeks to make the store operational again, but full restoration did not happen until late October.

“We got it operating, but not fully until the end of October,” she said.

The Bolivar Peninsula, heavily reliant on tourism, faces an ongoing challenge as the new hurricane season approaches in June. Gilchrist resident Dean Crooks expressed concern about the area’s vulnerability to future storms.

“I’ve only been here three years, but I’ve been trapped on this peninsula at least three different times,” Crooks said. “One of those times, the concrete barricades they put down to supposedly protect [Highway] 87 were slid out into the middle of 87.”

Despite the challenges, Blacksher remains committed to keeping her business open for visitors.

“It’s been a ride, you know, but it’s been crazy,” she said. “We ended up just making it work.”

With hurricane season on the horizon, residents and business owners alike are bracing for what comes next while continuing their recovery from Beryl’s devastation.