ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Pass-a-Grille Beach was one of those areas hit hard after Hurricane Helene.

One of the most recognizable properties hit hard by the storm was the Seahorse Restaurant. The green and red striped awnings on the small building that sits directly in front of the intercoastal is hard to miss. Not to mention, the big blue seahorse in front of the Seahorse Restaurant

The restaurant has now been designated as historic. Ehren Hollenback’s family owns the place.

The tale the historic restaurant is telling today was one Hollenback said his family had hoped to never learn about.

“So, this is the Seahorse Restaurant. Initially it was built in 1938 is what we’ve been told,” said Hollenback. “As you can see, Hurricane Helene did a number on it this time. We definitely experienced catastrophic damage."

"Over the years we’ve had damage. Maybe one foot, two foot of water but this time it really did an impact on the building itself.”

Hollenback said he was basically raised at the restaurant. His family has owned the waterfront property for decades.

“We’re missing walls. So there used to be front walls here with the bank of windows and then planter boxes with all the flowers,” he said.

Now they’re left with pictures and memories. He said the water reached about five feet high inside of the now-gutted restaurant.

“The Gulf was coming this way and the Pass-a-Grille channel was coming up over the seawall, and it just turned the inside of this restaurant into a washing machine,” he said.

Despite the inside of this historic restaurant looking like it went through a spin cycle, he says they were able to get the history of this place on record.

“We were granted to historic designation by the city. What that allows us to do is move forward with permitting and get the process up and going,” Hollenback said.

His family is committed to preserving history on this island.

“I haven’t done the exact research, but it’s probably one of the oldest running restaurants in the Tampa Bay area,” he said.

Behind their famed restaurant sits the oldest home on the barrier islands also owned by them. It’s what makes up the charm of Pass-a-Grille and it will once again be restored.

Blue seahorse included.

The owners are hoping to have this place repaired in the next six months. It’s a tall task, but they say the historic site designation will help them move faster toward rebuilding and reopening.