The owners of the Coronado Tree Farm, the city's first ever Christmas tree lot, were crushed to find out that the first wave of this weekend's storm destroyed their lot before the end of its inaugural season.
"I woke up this morning to a text from multiple people that showed some of the initial damage that happened," Steve Albert said. Steve and his wife Shanel also own the Coronado Flower Lady, a flower stand on Orange Avenue, which was recently damaged by a drunk driver.
The Albert family had high hopes for success with their one-of-a-kind lot. There isn't a place in the county selling Christmas trees that offers views of the downtown San Diego skyline and the sweet serenade of crashing waves.
"It looked really good and the city was really excited and it was going to be a great weekend for us," Steve said.
The first day of the season's first storm brought pounding rain and aggressive winds that toppled the Albert's trees and destroyed their decorations. The damage is so bad, the tree lot won't reopen.
"It was just so far gone, the tents and everything was destroyed and we're just going to have to cut our losses on this one," he said.
Steve says he'll be selling the decorations and the trees at a discount. If you would like to buy a tree at a discounted rate, the Alberts will be at the lot on First Street near the ferry landing Friday morning.
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Thankfully, the Alberts still have their flower stand. It has been rebuilt since it was run into and Shanel says business is back to normal there.
