LAFITTE, La. — One of the only restaurants in Lafitte was destroyed during Hurricane Ida. Now the owner is hoping another storm won't wipe out what progress has been made in the area, as forecasters are expecting a busy hurricane season.
"This is an icon down here, it kills us that we have to tear it down," said Nicholas Dinet, owner of Boutte's Bayou Restaurant.
The beloved waterfront restaurant in Lafitte opened in 1971, turning 50 last year, the same year Hurricane Ida destroyed it.
"The floors all full of mud," Dinet said as he looked through the front door of the restaurant. It was the sixth time the building flooded.
The restaurant was in Dinet's wife's family since it opened. Dinet had just taken over the business as it was featured and fixed up on the Food Network's show, 'Restaurant Impossible.' Then, Hurricane Ida hit a few months later.
Dinet is staying in business by using a trailer as his kitchen and a barge as his dining space. It's a temporary home for the restaurant until it can be torn down and rebuilt. He's getting by, but now with the daunting threat of what's expected to be another busy hurricane season.
"I'm nervous. I'm nervous because every time we go five steps forward we go 10 steps back," Dinet said.
If a storm comes, he plans to evacuate.
"I want to get out of here when the storm comes. Don’t stay. I stayed for Ike. I was in my marina and I almost got killed. Don’t stay," he said.
Jefferson Parish leaders are practicing their own evacuation plans for residents. Monday, the parish tested its plan to help those who need assistance getting to a safe place.
"The scariest thing for me is not our process, it’s the time frame we have to do it. These storms are coming at us very quickly," said Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng.
"The important thing to stress is if you know as a citizen you'll require assistance with an evacuation, prepare now. Prepare now and be ready when we say there is a mandatory evacuation," said Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Director, Joe Valiente.
Now is also the time to get your hurricane kit ready.
"It can't hurt and sometimes we do have storms that happen early in the season, even some pre season storms," said Channel 4's Local Weather Expert Alexandra Cranford.
Cranford suggests adding food, water, flashlights, portable phone charges, and first aid items into your kit.
"I would say if you have those five things, maybe plus a radio, those will really help you," she said.
They are small preparation steps that Dinet hopes he won't have to put into action this year.
"I hope not because we're all making headway
Hurricane season officially begins June 1.