New emergency restoration, renovation company opens branch in Tampa as Hurricane Ian slams into state

Water damage in house after flooding with stains on the wall

Venturi Restoration had been weighing the merits of opening a Tampa branch office for months before finally deciding to officially take the plunge and open a property restoration business in Florida.

After making the commitment, Venturi Restoration CEO Mark San Fratello said the company agreed weeks ago that Sept. 24 would be the grand opening of the Tampa branch office.

It’s just coincidental that Venturi Restoration’s grand opening in Tampa came just before Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.

But the timing has positioned the company, a nationwide provider of emergency restoration services, in a place where it can quickly respond to the large-scale property damage that will result from Hurricane Ian.

San Fratello acknowledges he is setting up a shop at a time of tremendous need.

“The complexities and safety risks that can come with operating in an area hit by a major storm aside, having the fixed location, equipment and people in close proximity to customers is, of course, a good thing,” San Fratello told Florida Politics in an email.

“We take every precaution to make sure our people are safe before, during and after an event like this, but it can still be difficult to operate until basic services are restored. We have experience operating in this environment and we are prepared for whatever Ian brings.”

Venturi Restoration boasts on its website that it has “successfully completed tens of thousands of projects backed by an insurance claim and we can help you through every stage of your claim process.”

It opened the office with eight full-time employees, but San Fratello said he is ramping it up, at least temporarily, due to the powerful storm.

“We will bring in significantly more resources (people and equipment) on a temporary basis as dictated by the Hurricane Ian response,” Fratello said in his email.

With the opening of the Tampa branch, Venturi Restoration now has 21 different locations across the United States. Tampa is the only Florida location for the company, though.

“And we have no immediate plans to expand to additional locations in the state,” San Fratello said.