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Another key business on the Asbury Park boardwalk has reopened after suffering damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Stella Marina Bar and Restaurant began serving customers on Thursday night at 5 p.m. The restaurant will reopen on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and resume its normal business hours.

“I was excited and relieved when we finally got to that point when we could allow customers back into our place,” said general manager Dennis Tafuri [standing in photo above on Thursday night]. “The city was really great in helping us to get open as quickly as we could.”

The interior has been restored to how it looked before the storm. “We wanted it exactly as before,” said Tafuri. The restaurant was also able to retain 85 percent of its staff, he said.

Stella Marina will be open 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. during the week, Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and dinner all day Sunday from 12:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Tafuri is also the general manager of Cubacan Restaurant on the boardwalk, which is owned by the same group as Stella Marina. That restaurant — located in the First Avenue pavilion and closed due to hurricane damage — is scheduled to reopen Feburary 1, said Tafuri.

“It’s been a long long journey to get back to this, but I think it’s good not just for us but for everyone,” Tafuri said. “The quicker you can return to normalcy the better for everyone.”

“We do feel lucky and blessed that our building is intact and we’re able to open. Our heart goes out to the people who did lose their business,” he said.

 

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