JACKSONVILLE, Fla – As our community continues to recover from Hurricane Irma, local restaurants are banking on you eating out.
Many restaurants in our area had to close during the storm.
Mary's Pub in Riverside had its soft opening Friday, just four days after Hurricane Irma flooded that neighborhood in Jacksonville.
It was a mad dash to not only save infrastructure and food there, but also at the restaurant in Daytona Beach and the third restaurant in St. Nicholas.
You can imagine the panic and urgency that sets in when a storm threatens all three of your locations. The Hamburger Mary's restaurant in Daytona Beach had major damage. The owner, Gary Motes, said they had 2-3 feet of floodwater in the building. They had to rip up 6,000 square feet of soaked carpet.
"I was debating pulling the plug on Daytona. And my wife said, 'We're family and a lot of people depend on their jobs down there.' So we all banded together and we got it cleaned," Motes said.
Hamburger Mary's restaurant in Daytona Beach partially opened back up a week ago, but repairs are still underway.
"It was very devastating. That was a 10,000-square-foot restaurant," Motes said.
Motes was able to breathe a sigh of relief in Jacksonville. The newest location, Mary's Pub in Riverside, was set to open the week of the storm. With the storm and flooding not far from that location, they were worried. Mary's Pub in Riverside didn't sustain any damage from the storm, but they did lose big money in sales at the two other restaurants -- starting a week before the storm even hit.
"When people started feeling a little threatened, because the restaurant industry is like disposable income, we felt it a week before it hit. We had no sales the first week and we were closed for seven days after that and even now it's still impacted us," Motes said. "It's really hard. It will take months, if not years, to recover. In the restaurant business, everyone thinks you make millions, which you don't because the profit margin is really low, and now we're having to make up nearly $84,000 in revenue."
Motes said they don't have flood insurance, so they're having to cover all the costs for repairs. That's something he's considering now, but he's still not sold.
"As a small business owner, you have to make those kinds of choices. I'm 50 years old and this is the first time that I've been affected by a storm in Jacksonville and Florida," Motes said. "You wonder if it's cost-effective."
Hamburger Mary's in St. Nicholas didn't have any damage either, and Motes is ready to serve -- especially at the new sports-themed Mary's Pub in Riverside. Motes said they've been trying to get into Riverside for five years.
"This is a great opportunity. We have four certified chefs in the kitchen here. We're really pumping out some good food," he said. "It's an exciting experience."
All three restaurants are back open and they, like all restaurants owners, are hoping you'll get back in your routine and start dining out again soon.