Tampa sweet shops reflect on two hurricanes

Everyone preparing for a storm has roughly the same factors to consider: securing a home, the safety of family and friends, resources to ride out the weather. But for food and beverage business owners, a lot more is at stake. What do you do when you are tasked with safeguarding a staff of 30, a storefront and a warehouse containing 10,000 pounds of chocolate? 

Austin and Grant Gappelberg, brothers and co-owners of Hampton Chocolate Factory, which offers chocolate candies and ice cream in the Sparkman Wharf district of downtown Tampa, spent Hurricanes Helene and Milton figuring out creative ways to protect the company’s inventory in their store and at an offsite warehouse.