A handful of waterfront restaurants across the Treasure Coast flooded and sustained minor damages as Hurricane Nicole made landfall early Thursday.
The Category 1 storm brought strong wind gusts, heavy rainfall and severe beach erosion to the tri-county region as the hurricane made landfall on North Hutchinson Island just south of Vero Beach at 3 a.m. Thursday.
Shrimpers Raw Bar & Grill and The Twisted Tuna in Manatee Pocket, and Riverside Cafe in Indian River County, were among those that experienced some flooding, but overall were spared from serious damage.
“We had water up to the top step before it would go inside the restaurant,” said Kipp Foster, owner of Shrimpers Raw Bar & Grill. “Probably 3 feet of water in that downstairs area.”
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Riverside Cafe had about 6 inches of flood water, said co-owner David Lane, and the restaurant sustained some minor damage to part of its dock.
“It’s a nuisance, because the water covers all the way into my office, the bathrooms, the whole kitchen… everything,” Lane said.
All businesses were able to reopen Thursday.
Other restaurants on the barrier island faced severe beach erosion and damage to entranceways or staircases.
The Ocean Grill in Indian River County sustained erosion to its beachfront deck from the storm surge, about half of the restaurant’s foundation now visible from the impact.
Shuckers in St. Lucie County had sand, seaweed and debris covering its outdoor deck, but the interior of the restaurant remained undamaged.
A majority of waterfront restaurants survived Hurricane Nicole unscathed and have already reopened. Here’s a partial status report as of 3 p.m. Thursday:
OPEN
Indian River County restaurants
- Cobalt Restaurant: Open Thursday, with no damage to the restaurant
- Costa d’Este Beach Resort: Open Thursday with little damage. The pool is currently closed.
- Mulligan’s Beach House: Open, with no damage
- Earl’s Hideaway Lounge: Open, with no damage
- Riverside Cafe: Reopened at 4 p.m.
St. Lucie County restaurants
- Kyle G’s Prime Seafood: Open at 3 p.m. Thursday, no damage
- Square Grouper: Plans to reopen at 6 p.m. Thursday, with no serious damage
- Pietro’s on the River: Open, operating under regular hours
Martin County restaurants
- Twisted Tuna: Open, operating under its normal hours, 11 a.m. to midnight. The outside bar remains closed due to electricity issues.
- Sailor’s Return: Will open for dinner service from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday
- District Table: Will open for dinner service from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday
- Stuart Boathouse: Lost power but will open for dinner service at 5 p.m. Thursday
- Mulligan’s Beach House: Lost power and hopes to reopen by 3 p.m. Thursday
- Spritz City Bistro: The downtown Stuart restaurant opens at 4 p.m. Thursday.
- Hudson’s on the River: Reopened at noon
CLOSED
Indian River County restaurants
- Ocean Grill: The beachfront restaurant remained closed Thursday to allow for cleanup and removal of boards from the windows. The restaurant is scheduled to reopen 11:30 a.m. Friday.
St. Lucie County restaurants
- Shuckers: Plans to reopen for regular hours Friday
Martin County restaurants
- Seaside Café: The county-owned restaurant remained closed Thursday. County officials could not immediately be reached for comment, so TCPalm does not know whether the Stuart Beach eatery it sustained any damage.
- Dolphin Bar: Remained closed Thursday and will reopen Friday; no damage
- Conchy Joe’s: Remained closed Thursday and will reopen Friday; no damage