Galveston Bay businesses on getting ready for Beryl's storm surge: 'It is really scary'

SAN LEON, Texas (KTRK) -- As Tropical Storm Beryl barrels toward the Texas coast, businesses up and down Galveston Bay are worried about storm surges from whatever comes to the Houston area.

Topwater Grill sits right along the bay in San Leon, and took on several inches of water during Tropical Storm Alberto last month.

"If we have a high tide and then the high wind and then the storm blows the water up, so it could get knee-deep, waist-deep," owner Robert Jakubas said.

After Hurricane Ike, Jakubas said they installed a series of hidden drains at the restaurant, so whatever makes it inside can easily get out.

"We wash it out," he said. "We could be open in four hours after a storm surge. So we're ready for it. We've been through plenty of them."

So have Fred and Teresita Bartolome in their 46 years as business owners in Seabrook.

Five of their businesses were destroyed by Hurricane Ike, and now they just have the Pier 8 restaurant and home healthcare business. There, they've already begun piling up crates of important documents on top of desks in preparation for Beryl.

"It is really scary just - I don't know. You cannot sleep at night thinking what will happen next and this kind of stuff," Fred Bartolome said.

If they haven't already, other Seabrook businesses tell Eyewitness News they will be getting ready for the storm surge.

"Coming in Sunday at 8 and then pick all the stuff up off the floor and that's about it," Summer McNatt, who works at Outriggers Seafood, said.

"Trying to get it as dry as we can," Bralie Sawyer added.

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