Pucker, Tony’s will be back in business by summer
Sandy largely spared the two pop-ups
Pucker and Tony’s, two pop-ups serving classic boardwalk fare, will be up and running as soon as the boardwalk is ready, owner Kristina Bannon [pictured above] has said.
Pucker, which serves lemonade and French fries, and Tony’s, which serves sausage sandwiches and steak sandwiches, sustained minimal damage in Hurricane Sandy, which struck on Oct. 29, 2012.
“Overall, I felt pretty blessed,” Bannon said. “I didn’t float away, so that was good.”
Both Tony’s and Pucker filled with about three inches of water during the storm, which wasn’t enough to irreparably damage equipment, Bannon said. Tony’s shifted about a foot and a half off its foundation, but Pucker stayed put.
Tony’s may have been saved because of the tables and chairs Bannon placed behind the storefront before the storm, she said. She had nowhere else to put them, and believes they acted like a wedge and kept Tony’s from floating further.
The waterpark just next door to Tony’s was completely flooded, with its front gates crushed in, Bannon said. The ground around Tony’s was eroded quite a bit also, she said.
“I did feel pretty lucky,” she said. “I don’t know why. It was all very random.”
Bannon will have to replace some sheet rock in the front counter at Tony’s, and Bannon’s landlords, boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette, will likely fortify the foundation at that pop-up.
The boardwalk itself was most damaged in the area in front of Pucker, just south of Convention Hall. City engineer Joe Cunha has said that area will need an entirely new substructure. In front of Tony’s, the boardwalk is “in pretty great shape,” Bannon said.
Bannon normally shoots to open the first weekend of April, she said, but she will be unable to open until the boardwalk is ready this year. Cunha has said the boardwalk could be complete by Memorial Day Weekend.
Last year was the inaugural year on the boardwalk for Tony’s. This summer will mark Pucker’s fifth anniversary, Bannon said.
The boardwalk pop-ups are made from converted shipping containers. Other boardwalk pop-ups include the Korean taco stand MOGO; the Crepe Shop; and the now-defunct Sand Witch.
