Less than a day after Hurricane Charley punched Southwest Florida, Carolyn Epperson-Brotka opened the doors of Wahoo Willie’s restaurant on Fort Myers Beach.

She didn’t open the cash register for four more days.

Epperson-Brotka, who manages the restaurant, served more than 700 people in the days immediately following the storm at no charge.

“We just did what we thought was the right thing to do,” she said.

Business as usual was another casualty of Hurricane Charley. Across Southwest Florida, business owners had to make quick decisions whether they could reopen or even if they should reopen as the region picked up the pieces.

For Epperson-Brotka, the decision was easy even though it meant defying law enforcement and taking a boat to reach Fort Myers Beach.

“I was going to swim over if I had to,” she said. “I’m a very good swimmer and I was ready.”

With no staff on hand to help, she relied on her husband, Joe, to help in the kitchen.

Many people who had a hot meal at the restaurant returned the favor by helping her clean up the restaurant.

Regular customer Mark Gibson pitched in to help and became more than just a familiar face, Brotka-Epperson said.

“I didn’t even know him before and now he is one of my best friends,” she said.

Even operations that returned to their normal business — although in greatly exaggerated circumstances — found a greater purpose waiting for them.

“Our employees are professionals and they knew they were needed,” said Mike Ryan, director of business development for Crowther Roofing and Sheet Metal.

That meant many employees had to delay some repairs to their own homes in order to repair government buildings and schools.

“They do sacrifice for the good of the community,” Ryan said. “For those employees who had significant damage, we help them so they can get back on their feet and join in the effort.”

Businesses big and small from Hendry County formed a convoy this week to ferry donated emergency supplies to residents of some of the hardest-hit rural areas, including Arcadia and Wauchula.

Led by the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office and Clewiston-based U.S. Sugar Corp., the convoy included 8,000 half-gallon containers of fresh orange juice in a refrigerated truck and up to 20,000 gallons of water in one-gallon containers. These were delivered to comfort stations where displaced people can get meals and other essentials.

U.S. Sugar also has been assisting with daily delivery of gasoline and diesel fuel for Hendry County law officers helping out in Charlotte County.

Kevin Johnson, general manager of Smoke’n Pit Bar-B-Que in North Fort Myers, said he opened Saturday without fully appreciating the scope of the damage.

“As soon as word got out we were open, it was crazy,” Johnson said. “We found out that all these other places weren’t open and people were definitely hungry.”

The restaurant was out of food by 5 p.m. Saturday but was able to get resupplied with many items the next day.

Because the restaurant is family-owned, Johnson said it was able to function without employees, who were home dealing with storm damage.

“No one in our family had any damage, so we were able to step up,” he said.

It wasn’t long before the regular staff returned.

“I think a lot of people were just happy to be able to come to work where there is air conditioning,” Johnson said.