FLORISSANT, Mo. — A Florissant business is back open after nearly five months of being closed.
The July flood devastated nearly everything inside the photography studio and around it.
The usually busy Florissant Meadows Shopping Center has been vacant for the past several months as several businesses continue to recover from the destruction the water left behind.
5 On Your Side spoke with Tina Ditto back at the end of August, when her dream photography studio was basically vacant.
The walls were completely torn up and the floors were damaged, but on Sunday, Dec. 11, Ditto got to stand in her renovated studio and open her doors once again.
It was a day she thought would never come.
Laughter and voices filled TSDitto Photography Studio and Gallery on Sunday morning in Florissant.
Owner and head photographer, Tina Ditto, said she was distraught when the flood happened, but now she has hope again.
"I believe that God gave me this photography to keep me going, and as each day goes by, it just gets closer and closer to my dream," she said.
A dream that was almost taken away from Ditto on July 26, 2022.
"I pretty much lost everything. Everything that was in the front of the studio was washed to the back of the studio. Everything from the back was washed to the front, so it was devastating. Some of those things were irreplaceable," she said.
Ditto opened her studio just two years after losing her daughter, Melissa, in a car accident.
Now, she is able to stand in a freshly carpeted and painted studio, as she feels her daughter's presence with every move she makes.
"I think that she's here. She's always with me and I always ask her, hold me up, hold me up, and so I feel like I'm standing up straight today," Ditto said.
Red and green holiday decorations filled the shop, as person after person stepped up to get their picture taken.
Even Florissant Mayor, Timothy Lowery, came for the grand re-opening.
"It is so important for us to get back and patronize these stores and our small businesses because this is the heart of our community," he said.
Lowery said it was heartbreaking to see how hard his city got hit with the July flood, specifically the shopping center.
"It was absolutely devastating. The whole shopping center, this whole area was devastated. We had a whole apartment complex...it was underwater...so I mean...we definitely took a lot of damage here in the city," he said.
While getting the cameras and lights back on wasn't easy, Ditto said, with the help of her team and her own personal angel holding her up, she was able to make the four walls feel like home again.
"I couldn't give up. I can't give up because she left me with a dream...and I need to fulfill it...and I will fulfill it until my legs give out...so I'm going to push and I'm going to just do everything I can to come back," she said.
There are other businesses back open in the Florissant Meadows Shopping Center.
Mayor Lowery said they want to get the word out that these stores are up and running again, so the community can help these business owners continue to recover.
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