DAYTONA BEACH SHORES Fla. — The iconic Crabby Joe’s Deck & Grill In Daytona Beach Shores reopened its doors Tuesday after being closed for almost two years because of damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
“It’s wonderful. I mean, it's been a long, long haul getting back open and everybody's been patient, though," said Ray Barshay, one of Crabby Joe's owners. "It's overwhelming what the public is about, basically hanging in with us and sending us good thoughts and hoping and showing up. I mean, they love it."
Located on the Sunglow Pier, which was originally built in 1960, Crabby Joe’s has faced a lot of storm damage. That includes most recently Hurricane Ian in 2022, which destroyed roughly 250 feet of the pier.
Due to the damage, Crabby Joe’s was closed, and it’s been a two-year journey to get back.
“We redid a lot of the building," Barshay said. "We did plumbing, we re-did electrical."
Now, he said they hope the new improvements put in place can keep the restaurant safe.
“We pray a lot. You can't control mother nature," Barshay said. "We added some piling. We did some other things. We made it as soon as we could do it."
When the restaurant closed, 150 employees were affected. Barshay said they were able to bring back close to 75% of the staff that was working at Crabby Joe's before Ian hit.
“Which is wonderful. And I got to thank all of them. They're terrific,” he said.
Among those returning was Danielle Nichols, who was working at Crabby Joe’s as a lead server when the storm hit.
“Twenty-three months, we all have just been waiting and so many of our staff from before coming back, and I am just so grateful that they hung out and waited this long to join the team again,” Nichols said.
Now she is back and got promoted to service manager at the restaurant.
“It's great to just oversee the staff and help them any way I can,” Nichols said.
Hundreds of local residents and customers from all over showed up at Crabby Joe's Tuesday to celebrate the big re-opening. Among them was resident Stella Bublitz. Originally from Minnesota, she said she has been a loyal customer of Crabby Joe’s for many years.
It started when she came down visiting as a snowbird decades ago. At age 86, she decided to leave her hometown and become a permanent resident of Volusia County.
Now at age 90, Bublitz said she couldn’t resist coming back Tuesday with her family to enjoy the re-opening.
"I am so excited beyond words," she said. "It’s like my home away from home."
Barshay said it’s been a great day to be back open for business.
“It's the best tasting view in town," he said. "And here we are. Surfers are surfing, the birds are flying, the clouds are out. It's just wonderful."
Nichols said they are looking forward to welcoming everyone back.
“Come on in, we are ready for you," she said.
Crabby Joe’s is located at 3701 S Atlantic Ave., in Daytona Beach Shores, and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.