- Employees at Backwoods Crossing are still cleaning up as feet of flooding still recedes.
- Neighbors raised over $15,000 to help rebuild and support employees in just a few days.
- Watch the video above to hear from one employee on how the clean up is going.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Five days after a storm brought severe flash flooding, the employees of a beloved restaurant are still picking up what over four feet of water left behind.
Northeast Tallahassee restaurant Backwoods Crossing is still experiencing flood waters from last week's storm.
Employees tell me the community is banding together to support them as they begin the clean up process.
"It's my joy. It's my home away from home." Zoe Allaire's restaurant home Backwoods Crossing, has been dealing with flooding for five days, along with much of the produce she worked hard to grow.
"You put your heart and soul and physical energy into it and seeing it all get washed away was a pretty gutting feeling." She's the gardener at the farm-to-table restaurant off of Mahan Drive.
It's in an area that received more than 9 inches of rain on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
"I knew the parking lot and the front garden were going to be flooded. I didn't expect it to be as severe as it was," Allaire said.
It's water that still is covering the road in the Baum and Capitola communities.
As of Monday afternoon, Leon County leaders still have parts of Capitola and Baum Road closed.
I reached out to them to see what neighbors should do if their homes were impacted by debris.
They told me you can leave the debris to be taken foryard debris pick up or go to one of the four rural waste sites.
Allaire said they have to wait to assess most of the damage that was left behind. "While we can't use much physical help right now, having that community support behind us is driving us to push through."
What she's talking about: over $15,000 raised in two days by Tallahassee neighbors and beyond.
It's all to support rebuilding parts of their farm and supporting the over 50 hourly employees that depend on the restaurant for a living.
"Seeing the amount of backing and support we have just received in just a few days is really really encouraging," Allaire said. "The employees here that need their job security couldn't be more grateful that we have a community behind us willing to help and keep us standing. It means the world to us."
Allaire tells me the Backwoods Crossing team is planning a community clean up day when all of the water has gone off of the property.
