Open or close for Helene? What two bar owners running for St. Pete Council decided

Two bar owners walk into City Hall.

They file paperwork to run for St. Petersburg City Council. They campaign to represent the city’s most flood-prone neighborhoods. They beat out three other candidates to make it to the runoff election.

Six weeks before Election Day, Hurricane Helene threatens storm surge Tampa Bay has never seen before. Both District 3 candidates live in areas under mandatory evacuation but made different calls for their businesses.

Mike Harting, the owner of 3 Daughters Brewing in the Warehouse Arts District, closed his bar Thursday “for the safety of our staff and customers” a Facebook post read. Pete Boland, the frontrunner in the race, announced his downtown hotspot The Galley is open for normal hours, closing at 3 a.m. Friday.

Both told the Tampa Bay Times that everyone should make their own decision on what’s best. For Harting, it was a safety issue.

“I just think they need to be home with their families,” he said about his staff.

Boland said he always defers to staff. A block away at Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern, his employees there commute from Seminole and didn’t feel comfortable coming in, so that bar is closed today. Each employee working at the Galley opted to go in, Boland said, and they’ve got extra hands on deck Thursday.

Boland said he operates the Galley like Waffle House: “If it’s real bad, we will close. If staff didn’t feel comfortable, we’d close.” He said the bar could close early, as peak high tide is expected at 11 p.m.

Boland evacuated from Shore Acres, where he’s been flooded five times, to the Cordova Inn downtown. His managing partner lives in the Ascent nearby. He says he has several family and friends who evacuated to hotels downtown, and many of the customers at the bar Thursday are evacuees.

“It’s been good. Guests have been happy and pleasant. We’re pumping out good food and being a little bit of respite,” Boland said. “We’re happy that we’re able to be an option for people that are looking for someplace to make a memory or two and get a hot meal.”

In 2021, Boland ran for mayor of St. Petersburg on a platform of supporting small businesses, taking issue with the way the city treated businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re an essential business. People need to eat. That’s what we do,” he said. “People need a place to go. We’re a safe place to be.”

Harting is spending the night at his brewery, located on a ridge line 43 feet above sea level. He invited anyone who wanted to store their cars on high ground to park at the brewery’s 60 spots. He said 30 to 40 cars parked there Wednesday.

“If anything does happen, our staff knows: Everyone is more than welcome to come in the brewery,” Harting said.

District 3 includes the low-lying neighborhoods of Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Placido Bayou, Edgemoor and Northeast Park. Boland and Harting are in a race to succeed current District 3 council member Ed Montanari, who is limited to two terms on the council. Montanari, who is evacuating from Snell Isle to higher ground, said he’s a cautious person.

“I would try to dissuade people from going out in these conditions and putting themselves at risk,” he said. “I don’t want something to happen where we’ve got to put our first responders at risk.”

Montanari has not made an endorsement in the race. However, he said one candidate made the right call.

“I like Mike Harting’s response,” Montanari said. “Close the business down, let’s get through this storm, take care of your family, your neighbors, and your homes. Get through the storm and get back to normal.”