Backwoods Crossing, now dubbed “Backwoods Island” by the restaurant’s owners, was surrounded by three feet of floodwater in the aftermath of Thursday’s rainstorms.
Tyler Rice, co-owner, said he was checking on his other restaurant, Trident, in Panacea, for possible flood damage when he got a call from the manager at the Mahan Drive restaurant telling him water was beginning to rise.
“At that point it was kind of only in the parking lot, but throughout the day it was just steadily rising, and it came up another two feet right up under the building,” Rice said Friday in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, adding there was no water in the building, however. They’re waiting to assess the crawlspace and floorboards.
Nearly two acres of farmland outside the “farm-to-table” eatery have been submerged, leaving it in “shambles,” Rice said, with no way to fully assess the damages until the water subsides.
Water reached as high as Rice’s knees, forcing the staff to use boats and other equipment to travel through the surging waters in an attempt to survey damage to the restaurant and farm that he and his brother have nurtured for nearly a decade.
Rice loaded rabbits and cats onto his canoe to transport them off the property. The other farm animals, including chickens and turkeys, were safely perched up on their stoops.
The restaurant that prides itself on its “garden creations,” including an herb-crusted sea bass, street corn tacos and seafood pasta, is playing the waiting game for now as far as reopening.
“The water came up so much higher than it ever has in the eight years that we’ve been there,” he said.
Rice said the water is still at a peak not only for the restaurant, but also for residents in the surrounding area. It marks the first time they’ve dealt with storm damage to this degree.
Rice is puzzled by how the flooding has been this extensive, suggesting that something may have “caused the flood plain to change,” because they have faced many storms, but have never been left with this much aftermath.
“It’s gonna take a long time for that to recover and that process won’t even start until the water recedes and it kind of hasn’t,” Rice said.
At the same time, the owners are left with questions about the sustainability of having their business there “if this becomes a regular thing.”
The owners updated patrons of the restaurant about its closure with a video posted on Facebook that featured Johnny Cash’s “Five Feet High and Rising” in the background.
The post generated over 13,000 views and many took to the comments with their sentiments and prayers. One person commented, “I have lived 1.5 miles down Mahan for 30 years. I have never seen it flood like this.”
Kyla A Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com. New restaurant opening up, special deals, or events coming up? Let me know!
