MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. -- Red tide is still hurting business along the Gulf Coast of Florida, but some beach communities are giving something away to try to bring in more visitors—parking.
The good news is the smell isn’t as bad as it’s been over the past few weeks, and the county is doing everything it can to keep the dead fish off the beach. Unfortunately for businesses on Madeira Beach, there still aren’t as many people as there usually are.
The city said by offering free parking, it’s losing out on more than $3,000 per day, but business owners said that sends the right message.
“Free parking I think helps,” John Frabotta of Frabotta’s Italian Kitchen said. “It’s helping the community feel like the city is trying to do something for the locals and the tourists.”
Next door to Frabotta’s Italian Kitchen, the owner of Sinbad’s Big Treasure Chest, Corey Nelis, said it’s been a challenge to get customers in. Normally this time of year, the shop would see around 60 customers per day. Lately, Nelis said that number has been closer to zero.
For the first time in a long time, there have been more people at the shop because conditions on the beach have gotten better.
“Just today, I was able to turn to one of my coworkers and say in the morning time, I said this is as many customers as we’ve had all week, so I’m really happy about that,” Nelis explained.
Businesses are hoping the red tide and the slow season end at the same time.
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