Grassy Flats was born from a hurricane.
Without Hurricane Irma, I never would have taken on a project as big as rebuilding three Olde Florida Inns. I taught and enjoyed watersports every day, went spearfishing after work, and challenged myself to grow as much tropical fruit as I could so our snapper dinners could have a little variety. I worked with the top resorts in the Florida Keys and had clients from all over the world.
On September 9, 2017, Irma battered Havana as a Cat 5 and crossed the straits, landing in Cudjoe Key as a Cat 4. My biggest project to date, The Lagoon on Grassy Key, was put on hold, and all the big resorts we worked for shut down and collected insurance for over a year, laying off locals and decimating the livelihoods of the people of Marathon, FL.
I’ve never seen people so run down but also so resilient; the people of the Keys came together in a way that gives you more hope in humanity than anything I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. With the biggest industry in the Keys being hospitality, large hotels sat back collecting loss of revenue checks. Slowly but surely, the population of Marathon dwindled; friends left, homes turned into vacation rentals, and people rebuilt their lives.
Our staff stayed busy; we landscaped neighborhoods, rebuilt our homes and businesses, and even started a sawmill to cut tropical wood from people's yards to sell and tell the story of the troubles that hit the Keys. We had to stay creative, but we kept going, and a year later, in September of 2018, I took the biggest risk of my life and decided to become the hotel so that next time I could try to keep people working and rebuild faster with more intention for my community than some corporate folks cashing checks while friends slowly got evicted.
Before the Keys, I lived in Pass-A-Grille Beach, which just got hit by Cat 4 Helene. I’m seeing videos of my friends' houses destroyed, lives lost, and the same process we endured being experienced all over again. In the midst of that rebuild from Irma, I had a few moments of normalcy where I left the Keys and spent some time in similar beach/resort towns that weren’t touched. It was surreal, to say the least, that while we endured the heaviest disaster I could imagine, these places were untouched and living in total normalcy. It was a recharge for me that I look back on and don’t know if I could have continued trucking ahead without.
While we endured a few long nights and some beach erosion, this time around we were only scathed in comparison to what people experienced from this past storm. If you or your loved ones were affected by Helene, we encourage you to salvage what you can and take every effort possible to clean, disinfect, and dry your houses. When you reach that moment where you want to give up, please come see us and recharge. For the next six weeks, for those affected by Helene, we will waive pet fees and do our best to meet your budgets, knowing that you have lost a great deal and likely still have a long road ahead.
Florida is no stranger to hurricanes, but this is another year where yet another community has seen devastation not known in our lifetime. You will get back on top, you will rebuild, and you can come out stronger than ever. We are here for you.
- Matt Sexton & Grassy Flats Family
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