Popular restaurant in New Smyrna Beach reopens after fire
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida. – A popular restaurant and bar in New Smyrna Beach has reopened after a fire.
The Ocean Breeze Tiki Bar is reopened after an electrical fire broke out in April, but it won’t look like what you’re used to. The restaurant used to operate on the roof, but has now reopened at ground level while work is underway to rebuild the top.
This is a temporary solution so Ocean Breeze will be able to get its employees back to work and customers back to the door. The restaurant management has expanded their downstairs bar, built a terrace to put their tables on, and has a trailer in the back to grill food.
“The renovation of the top floor will take about a year,” CEO James Mason said. “So, in order to not fire the guys and get everyone back to work, this is the quickest decision we could make to get everyone back to work.”
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However, Ocean Breeze Tiki Bar has some work to do. Mason says the city gave them a year to keep the deck below open before returning to the roof.
“We’re on the clock,” Mason said. “This is a temporary phenomenon. If we don’t have progress at the top, it will all disappear.”
As long as they work with a temporary fix, the future of Ocean Breeze looks bright as they rise from the ashes.
“Some smiles on their faces tell me that we are doing everything right,” Mason said. “It doesn’t have to be a super restaurant. The main thing is in the people who serve it, and in the people who come here.”
The Wildside Beachwear gift shop at the restaurant is also open and open.
