By Alexis Casnave, Features Editor
Despite the hardships Hurricane Ida has caused, it has not stopped the local businesses of Louisiana from prospering.
“I believe Houma and other parts of Southeast Louisiana will be bouncing back very soon,” says Sondra Corbitt, executive director of Explore Houma.
Corbett reports more businesses have reopened than have closed. From restaurants to local movie theaters, Houma is on track to be fully functional in the next couple of years.
Local flower shop, The Blooming Orchid, has been doing extremely well in the past year. The shop has been owned by Angela Adams since 1987 and Ida did little to slow down her business.
“During the shop’s repair, me and my crew worked from my house,” says Adams. “I was so grateful to still have business after such a horrific event.”
“I was so grateful to still have business after such a horrific event.”
— Angela Adams, owner of The Blooming Orchid
Adams’ shop sustained water and wind damage causing holes in her roof and loss of electricity for a few weeks. She salvaged what she could in equipment and flowers and continued to work from her home and took business calls from her personal cell phone.
Adams sells dozens of flower arrangements weekly with the number increasing into the hundreds during busy seasons like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
“A hurricane’s mess will be temporary, but the love and want for my flowers will stay constant,” says Adams.
Farther south in Galliano, family-owned restaurant Kajun Twist reopened for business on October 10, more than a year after Ida struck.
“Cooking this food is in my blood so I’ve been doing whatever it takes to share my talent with people,” says owner Anthony Goldsmith.
Unfortunately, the damage the restaurant sustained was enough to close it indefinitely, but by December 2021 the business was able to continue working out of a food truck offering Louisiana favorites like shrimp po’boys and gumbo.
Goldsmith says, “People are going miles out of their way to get a taste of our food and it’s truly a blessing after everything we’ve been through.”
Booming Construction
By Tyrese Lee, podcast Editor While Hurricane Ida damaged homes and businesses in South Louisiana, one industry is booming as they work to rebuild the