COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — Several areas in Cocke County saw extreme flooding from Hurricane Helene. The Hartford community is known for its rafting opportunities being right off the Pigeon River, and the river's floodwaters damaged houses and businesses.
The Bean Trees Cafe is one of those businesses. Michelle Cuellar started the business as a coffee shop. Then over the past 21 years, she's built a restaurant and made her livelihood.
"I need to open my business so I can bring my employees back to work, so they can piece their lives back together. I went from 21 years of a successful business to now not having a job. The bills keep coming in. I need to repair things so I can open back up and that takes the generosity of other people. Having no flood insurance, we're just at a complete loss," Cuellar said.
She was in Erwin during the hurricane and got stuck for three days. She said she tried to remain positive about what her business would look like when she returned. Her son had sandbagged the doors and she didn't expect water to reach the inside of the cafe.
"I couldn't even open the door. My equipment was floating. It had floated even from the kitchen. I don't know how it got in here, but I had kitchen equipment that was crammed up against the doors and probably a couple of feet of muddy sludge," she said.
Once she got back, she and some volunteers got to work clearing out the cafe and saving what they could. She said it was difficult to avoid flood waters.
"I was trying to be very careful about not allowing this toxic sludge to get on me. But sure enough, it did. I got a chemical burn. I had to go to my doctor and they gave me steroids but we just didn't know and we didn't have a choice. We had to get in here and we had to get everything out," Cuellar said.
She said they had to work fast to save the integrity of the building otherwise she'd be left with nothing. Cuellar said she's grateful to have the community's support, but asks that people focus on families first.