Galveston Bay businesses brace for rising waters from Beryl as tropical storm heads toward Texas coast

SAN LEON, Texas (KTRK) — As Tropical Storm Beryl heads toward the Texas coast, businesses across Galveston Bay are concerned about storm surges from whatever could happen in the Houston area.

Topwater Grill sits right on San Leon Bay and received several inches of water during Tropical Storm Alberto last month.

“If we have a high tide, followed by strong wind and a storm, the water could be up to our knees and waists,” said owner Robert Jakubas.

After Hurricane Ike, Jakubas said they installed a series of hidden drains throughout the restaurant, so anything that gets inside can easily get out.

“We’ll eliminate it,” he said. “We could be open in four hours after a storm surge. So we’re prepared for that. We’ve been through a lot of those.”

This has also been the case for Fred and Teresita Bartolome for 46 years as business owners in Seabrook.

Five of their businesses were destroyed by Hurricane Ike, leaving only the Pier 8 restaurant and the home health care business. There, they’ve already started stacking boxes of important documents on desks in preparation for Beryl.

“It’s really scary, I don’t know. You can’t sleep at night thinking about what’s going to happen next and stuff like that,” said Fred Bartolome.

If they haven’t already, other Seabrook businesses told Eyewitness News they will be preparing for the storm surge.

“I come in on Sunday at 8 o’clock, pick up all the stuff off the floor and that’s it,” said Summer McNatt, who works at Outriggers Seafood.

“We try to make it as dry as possible,” Bralie Sawyer added.

For the latest news, follow Luke Jones on Facebook, X and Instagram.