Sandbar restaurant reopens after flood cleanup

Looking around Sandbar’s pristine dining room, it’s hard to believe less than a month ago the floors looked like a wading pool. The now clean floral carpets were drenched with muddy water.

“We had waves and waves of water coming through the front door,” said owner Robert Cunard.

A painting holds the only remaining trace of the flood: the water line still clearly visible.

“That picture was on the floor, it hadn’t been hung because we had just finished repainting,” Cunard said.

The whole restaurant had been repainted and updated to welcome loyal diners like David Evans after being closed for the summer.

Evans has been dining here for 33 years and remembers driving by the soaked Sandbar when cleanup began.

“It was sad to see because I know Bobby and Tina had just gotten it ready to reopen and they had to start all over again,” Evans said.

Mopping up the mess took weeks, pushing back the restaurant’s re-opening date.

The cost: more than $20,000 out of pocket.

Cunard has flood insurance, but because of a loophole, it didn’t cover this kind of damage.

“There’s no insurance if it comes through the door because we’re not in a flood plane anymore. But if it comes through the ceiling we’re covered a hundred percent,” Cunard said.

This family-run business took a hard hit.

“We’re just struggling along and this is a really difficult business to start with,” he said.

The business reopened last week and Evans is already back at his favorite spot.

With Sandbar back up and running, Cunard’s attention has turned to recent weather forecasts.

He’s nervously watching the path of the latest tropical storm Simon, hoping mother nature doesn’t make a reservation here again.