JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A popular seafood restaurant in Mandarin is open again after having to close its doors a few weeks back because of severe flooding.
Clark's Fish Camp has been closed for three weeks after several inches of rain crept into the business. Since Friday is usually one of the restaurants most busy nights. The business decided to reopen.
Clark's Fish Camp has been in business for the last 40 years. The owner's granddaughter fed the restaurant's pet alligator Lilly in front of customers who were eager to snap pictures, and even more eager to chow down on their long awaited meals.
Three weeks ago the restaurant was flooded after a severe high tide covered the floors with about eight inches of water. The owners said though the restaurant floods every year this was the worst flooding Clark's Fish Camp has seen in the last 40 years.
The customers weren't the only ones that had to go without; so did the 80 employees that were out of work.
The restaurant said it's now formulating a precautionary plan.
"We do plan to raise the restaurant. It will be one part at a time. About five years ago we raised the back half of our restaurant where all of our dry storage is, food storage in the restrooms, a while ago that part of the restaurant used to be what were standing on here and we lose all of our inventory. This year we didn't really lose any inventory except for all of our fresh produce," said Ashley Peoples, one of the owners of Clark's Fish Camp.
The owners said they're still assessing how much damage was caused and how much revenue was lost.