APALACHICOLA, FL (WALB) - Apalachicola, Florida is taking a pretty good beating from the storm.
It knocked out power, closed businesses, and is keeping fisherman on dry land.
Restaurants, like the Owl Cafe, had to close their doors this past weekend because of power outages.
"Without power you can't cook. You can't properly wait on your tables because they can't see where they were eating if you bring it to them," said Waiter Ellis Maxwell.
And with no end to the gloomy weather in sight, the area's biggest industry is in jeopardy.
"It's rough on the fishing industry because it will royal up all that water out there and put up out on the oyster bars and it stops them from fishing," said Business Owner John Lee.
Lifelong resident Ellis Maxwell says every day the boats stay docked is money down the drain. "If the seafood business is messed up, every else goes along with it considering 98 percent of the restaurants in Franklin County are going to be seafood restaurants."
But the rain isn't all bad news. "We've been suffering through a drought so you gotta have storms on occasion to fill our aquifer and to fill our swamps up," said Lee.
With weather officials predicting several more days of Debby's wrath, businesses are staying cautiously optimistic.
"I figure it's probably going to be bad weather. Probably going to keep people away. Business is probably going to be down, but the people that are in town are probably going to be going out to eat considering there's really nothing else for them to do. So I think it will be hit or miss," said Maxwell.
Business owners say while the lack of tourists is a serious concern, the lack of seafood is a lot worse.
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