Business & Tech

Owners Plan to Re-Open Tinga Next Month

Eight months after Irene, owners plan to re-open at the end of April or beginning of May.

If you’ve been downtown lately, chances are you’ve wondered when or if is going to re-open.

In the windows are signs left since the week after - the storm that crashed a wall of water through the restaurant, tossing the furniture around and leaving a foot of mud in the basement - that say Tinga will be back.

That was eight months ago, but owners assure Patch that they will be serving tacos and burritos again by the end of April or beginning of May at the latest.

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“We are definitely coming back - and in fact just signed a new lease with landlord last week,” said Tinga co-owner David Fishman. “Right now our plan is to start fixing things up in the next two weeks with a hopeful re-opening towards the end of April if not early May.”

Previously, Fishman the extent of the damage in the restaurant:

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“Our basement was flooded to the ceiling, our front door burst open, our wood floor was ripped up and buckled so bad that the floor is now down to the beams, and you can stand and look down to the basement. We do a lot of prep work in the basement and there is nothing left down there, it’s a shell.”

Dealing with FEMA, and the state government has been a challenge, Fishman said.  “One of the things that gives us pause is whether this is going to happen again? This is a totally preventable situation. The canal is blocked up and you have to eliminate the blockage points.” 

Fishman said that the storm left thousands of pounds of mud behind in Tinga’s basement. The basement has been power-washed, and needs new sheetrock and a new ceiling, among other things. “Getting rid of water is one thing but everything is layered with a foot of mud and mud is incredibly heavy,” Fishman said in September.” 

The extent of the damage upstairs was clean up, putting down a new floor and replacing the low-lying electrical outlets.

Other parts of the building were also heavily damaged, forcing to open later than originally planned. The owners of the wood-fire pizza shop that was planning to occupy the Sono space have decided to pursue other plans.


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