Popular Annapolis restaurant back open 19 months after devastating fire: 'Don't give up the ship'

BALTIMORE -- Sailor Oyster Bar, a popular restaurant in downtown Annapolis, reopened nearly two years after a devastating fire. 

In June 2022, staff watched from across the street as the restaurant was engulfed in flames.

However, after an outpouring of community support, the beloved restaurant is back in business.

Chef Dan Zegas said it was like watching his own home burn down.

"Where the AC units and stuff were, just all engulfed in flames, just shooting straight up the side of the building," Zegas said. "Very intense, very emotional."

Zegas said he and the rest of the staff had grown very attached to the neighborhood joint on West Street, as did the community.

"Every single day walking the streets I'm getting stopped by someone saying 'When's Sailor coming back?'" Zegas said.

Scott Herbst and his wife Gabrielle opened Sailor Oyster Bar in 2016. 

It's an ode to the Navy and sailor culture that runs deep in Annapolis. 

Without a traditional kitchen, chefs work their magic behind the bar and create a familial environment. 

It was a hit.

"I figured you know we put too much effort and love into this place, and the family that I work with every day, so I just said whatever it takes, we're going to come back," Herbst said.

In the aftermath of the fire, donations started pouring in. 

The community raised more than $100,000 to help the restaurant get back on its feet.

"I've never felt that kind of camaraderie in a town before," Zegas said.

But Herbst knew getting the doors back open would not be smooth sailing.

"Permitting process took a while, insurance, you know, is never easy," Herbst said. "There were some unforeseen things in this space that we had to rectify in order to be structurally sound."

So, they adopted the famous last words of a Navy captain in the War of 1812, "Don't give up the ship."

"It was very apropos after the fire to kind of use it again," Herbst said. "And say, 'Don't give up the ship, we're back.'"

After 19 months, Sailor reopened last week.

Executive Chef Lorenza Aznar says it's good to be home.

"I feel like I could cry sometimes," Aznar said. "I look around and I'm like, 'My friends, my family, my restaurant, my home.'"