Just feet away from Southwest Florida's iconic sunny shores, an aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters the area can be seen.
Hurricane Ian leveled much of Fort Myers Beach, including the iconic Times Square area, along with dozens of restaurants and shops.
Many of those small businesses have kept the town alive over the decades.
One of them is the PierSide Grill, home to famous sunsets, cold drinks, and a warm atmosphere.
Ian's winds and storm surges reduced the iconic restaurant to rubble.
ABC15's Nick Ciletti spoke to one of the co-partners, Marty York, about how he's feeling.
"Wow. It's unbelievable," York says. "Who would have guessed that the whole building would disappear?"
York isn't exaggerating either, his restaurant isn't the only one impacted; even the iconic Fort Myers Beach Pier was no match for Ian.
"The strength of that storm just beat the heck out of that place...It's just really tragic and mind-boggling."
But despite the enormous obstacles, York sees all the construction crews, clean-up efforts, and bulldozers as a sign of progress and most importantly, hope.
ABC15 asked York, "Even though we are standing in the midst of devastation here on Fort Myers Beach, you still have reason to be hopeful?"
"Yes, just look around you. There is activity everywhere. People are putting things back together and doing their best to get to their next level," said York.
And despite his enormous loss, York isn't forgetting about the dozens of workers at PierSide Grill.
They've set up a fund for them to get through these tough times, according to a Facebook post, have raised more than $40,000.
