Owner of Bayou Bakery in Arlington remembers Hurricane Katrina on 15th anniversary
ARLINGTON, Va (ABC7) — Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast 15 years ago and killed more than 18 hundred people in the region.
The anniversary comes at the same time the remnants of what was Hurricane Laura were felt across the DMV.
"Mother Nature sure has got a twisted way of reminding us of certain things. I don't know what she's trying to say," said David Guas.
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He owns Bayou Bakery and grew up in New Orleans.
He wasn't there when Katrina struck, but his parents were and had to evacuate.
"People were saying the city is never going to come back. They had just written it off and I was like just thinking to myself, how do you write off a city that has so much unique culture," said Guas.
While a large portion of the city has returned, there are still portions that have yet to fully recover, though for Guas, the Big Easy will always hold a special place in his heart.
"When the emotional anniversaries come up for me, it helps for me to stay busy so I don't sit with my own whatever, so that's how I cope," said Guas.
This is the first week the cafe's been open, so he's been plenty busy.
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The pandemic caused him to close his doors at the end of March, though he continued helping area families in need.
"We were feeding Arlington County children and their families that were affected by the school closures with the help of Real Food for Kids which is the non-profit we partnered with," said Guas.
