Lack of shoppers puts Island businesses in a bind

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - At first Ana Hunsacker was relieved.

Her business - Sisters Interiors, an interiors and retail gift shop on South Padre Island - had emerged from Hurricane Dolly unscathed.

While others around her pulled themselves from the rubble, Sisters Interiors had been spared.

Lately relief has given way to desperation as the full measure of Dolly takes its toll.

"We have no business," Hunsacker said. "There aren't any shoppers."

Hunsacker isn't alone.

Absent summer shoppers, businesses up and down the Island that escaped the worst of the storm are taking a direct hit to their bottom lines.

Dolly's ground zero hit the Island's hotels hardest - the financial lifeblood of the economy.

With four of the Island's largest hotels closed, representing 40 percent of the available rooms, South Padre has temporarily lost some of its appeal as a destination for conventioneers.

A fifth - the 31-story Sapphire - delayed its grand opening.

"We've actually had to turn people away," said Melissa Zamora, communications director for the Island's Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Our job is to attract people."

Even if hotels like the Sheraton and Raddisson were open, the convention center is closed.

Still, rumors of devastation are exaggerated, Zamora added.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about the impact from Dolly," she said. "Yes we did have an impact but not to the extent people believe."

The beaches continue drawing sun worshipers, but minus nearly half the hotel space, business is not as usual. In coming months the Island will host Bike Fest and the South Padre International Music Festival.

To hedge against further losses and generate excitement about the annual events, the city is promoting itself in and around the state, Zamora said.

Gary Ainsworth, public information officer for South Padre Island's Economic Development Corporation, echoed Zamora's optimistic outlook.

"It's pretty much as it was before, just fewer people," Ainsworth said. "At least nobody's beating down our doors saying ‘we need this'."

Perhaps little consolation, but businesses forced to close for repairs at least know where they stand.

Cactus Flower, another Island interiors store, has been closed since the storm. The building's roof was torn off, but it customers occasionally trickle in anyway, says owner Jeri Garrett.

"We're getting people walking through the door and asking ‘where's all the stuff," Garrett said.

The impact to other Island businesses is less clear.

In her 23-years on the Island, Hunsacker has never dealt with anything like the current situation. With construction crews busily repairing buildings there is plenty of traffic, but few shoppers, Hunsacker said.

In the last two months alone she figures her business has lost around $100,000.

"It's going to be at least six months coming back," Hunsacker said.

"We lost July and August now we're going to lose Labor Day, too."