Restaurants Dependent On Outdoor Dining Dealt Another Blow By Tropical Storm Isaias
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Restaurants, which are already struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic, are now being dealt another blow by Tropical Storm Isaias.
The storm didn't play favorites, making an unwelcome visit to the popular Brook Tap House in West Caldwell.
"I'm driving by and I look. I'm like, oh my god. It was unbelievable," owner Michael Conforti told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez.
Powerful winds tore apart the restaurant's outdoor dining space, destroying thousands of dollars worth of tents and equipment.
The Conforti family posted video of the aftermath on Instagram, saying, "The Brook is now kaput."
"It was terrible. We put a lot of money into this whole outdoor dining, and when we came here, everything was destroyed. It was terrible. We were so sad. We were crying, actually," owner Nick Conforti said.
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For countless restaurants across New Jersey, outdoor dining is their bread and butter with COVID-19 restrictions still banning indoor dining.
Restaurants like Holsten's in Bloomfield couldn't open at all because of a power outage.
The owners of Egan and Sons restaurant in Montclair were feverishly making repairs to their patio space to make sure they didn't lose another day of business.
"We thought pretty much the tents were lowered and secured, but they did kind of take off. But look at it. We're back up and running. We're pretty resilient here," co-owner Sharon Egan said.
PHOTO GALLERY: Tropical Storm Isaias Leaves Path Of Destruction In New York And New Jersey
So is the Conforti family. Thanks to the help of family, friends and even customers, they were able to clean up, borrow some tents and open for business Wednesday.
"The whole community came out, people I didn't even know came out to help us put it all back together. It was really nice," Nick Conforti said.
But restaurant owners aren't sure how much more they can take. There's still about three months left in hurricane season, so they're hoping indoor dining will be allowed long before then.