Employees celebrate eatery's anniversary with beach cleanup

Hurricane Hanna's storm surge destroyed one of Corpus Christi's most popular beach spots - Padre Balli Park.

With Bob Hall Pier also damaged and the park closed indefinitely, the restaurant on the pier, Mikel May's also will be closed.

Owner May Mendoza-Nardone said when she gave out the last checks to employees last week, someone mentioned a beach cleanup.

As a result, staff from Mikel May's arrived at the beach on Sunday morning and cleaned trash and debris throughout the park.

"It's just really tough on all of us. I call them my kids - my kids love this place," Mendoza-Nardone said. "I mean this is, a lot of them worked for me from the beginning. So it means a lot to them as well as the community and the community has been so very supportive."

Sunday was also Mikel May's anniversary of opening.

"It was kind of a little special that we're still at least here on our 7th anniversary," she said.

Mendoza-Nardone says county officials still needs to assess more damages before allowing the restaurant to open again.

She said it could be a month to a few months before they are able to return to work.

To provide help to some employees, Mendoza-Nardone began a GoFundMe Page, in hopes of relieving any financial stress to them.

She added that the community has also been great in offering jobs to many employees that need it.