Fort Bend businesses continue to assess damage caused by Beryl | Houston Public Media

Fort Bend County has recorded more than $20 million in damages from Hurricane Beryl and some local businesses say they’re still recovering from the storm about a month later.

So far, the county has received reports of at least nine businesses that suffered major damage during the storm, and another 27 businesses recorded minor damage.

Hurricane Beryl was Danita Carey’s first storm as a business owner. Her dessert shop – Carey’s Frozen Delights – lost power for about a week and she had to throw out two freezers’ worth of desserts.

In total, she estimated the storm cost her more than $10,000.

“It does make you start to look at things a little bit differently, especially me being in a frozen dessert business,” she said.

Terrie Mason, owner of Swamp Chicken in Missouri City, also lost power in her restaurant for several days and had to throw out all of her food. In total, she estimates that she lost nearly $70,000 due to the storm.

“We couldn’t open right away because we had to scaffold to find what was available,” she said. “We had to limit our menu.”

Shortly before Hurricane Beryl, Martin and Christine Nguyen decided they would likely permanently close their brick-and-mortar store, the Sweet Boutique Bakery in Sugar Land. With the rising cost of living, they found that customers had less money to spend on their products. For the couple, Beryl confirmed their decision to close.

“A storm, or multiple storms, is just another battle that we had to deal with,” Martin Nguyen said.

President and CEO of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce Keri Schmidt said most businesses are up and running again, but the total cost they suffered is still being calculated.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of practice with these kinds of emergencies,” she said. “And so, you know, I think we’ve got a really cohesive community that comes together when these kinds of things happen.”