MATLACHA, Fla. — Businesses like Traders Hitching Post are back and welcoming you to come shop. Business owners say they’ve had to move locations just to stay open.

“We were across the street, a little farther down,” said Jerry Tolliver at Traders Hitching Post.

Tolliver said Hurricane Ian destroyed his business, causing him to close for seven months. But thanks to a friend, he’s back to selling his Native American jewelry and art.

“We were lucky one day when William across the street from the fudge factory, called my wife Cindy and said there’s a ‘for rent’ sign across the street and my wife called and the owner asks would she like to see it and my wife says, ‘no I want it,’” Tolliver explained.

Gulf Coast Kayak had to find a way to keep you on the water, moving from its Pine Island Road location.

“Fortunately, where we’re at today, Sirenia Vista Park, which is in Cape Coral, so we’ve been fortunate to partner with Cape Coral’s Parks and Recreation to continue to operate our business in a mobile fashion,” said Bryan Stockbridge with Gulf Coast Kayak.

But it wasn’t easy to get up and running.

“It was a very hard three months getting things back in order,” Stockbridge explained.

Other businesses are back open now, like CW Fudge Factory, Matlacha Post Office Gifts, Tropical Jewelry, Hammock Company and many more.

“We’d like to see more people come out and experience Matlacha in a different way, but it’s still here — the shops are opening up one by one,” said Tolliver.