BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer
A mid-afternoon fire destroyed a Route 9 restaurant Nov. 6.
Ocean Blue in Sayreville had been serving food, drinks and live jazz music since opening on the northbound side of the state highway adjacent to the Peter Pank restaurant after remodeling the premises about a year ago.
The fire, which began after 2 p.m. while the restaurant was open for business, gutted the establishment. The fire’s origin appears to have been accidental, according to the restaurant’s co-owner, Nick Paxos. Police and fire officials were still investigating.
“We’re devastated, the whole staff,” Paxos said. “We put a lot of time into the restaurant.”
In September, Greater Media visited Ocean Blue for a story on the restaurant that had begun to build a steady clientele on property that, as Paxos said, had a previous reputation for changing hands time and again.
Manager Maria Crowley was working at the time of the fire, and quickly ushered employees and customers out of the restaurant before calling 911.
“She had the cool head on her shoulders to get everyone out of the building,” Paxos said. “We’re very lucky we had her [there].”
Reports indicate that several borough firefighters suffered smoke inhalation in getting the fire under control and were treated at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy division.
Paxos referred to the incident as a total loss.
“There’s nothing salvageable about it,” he said. Should it be rebuilt, he said, it will be from the ground up.
“It will be Ocean Blue [again], but much better,” he said.
Currently, Paxos said he is awaiting the conclusion of the police investigation, as well as to see how much of the damages will be covered by insurance, before moving forward with any plans.
“I fell in love with this area,” he said. “Some customers seemed to come in often because they wanted [the restaurant] to succeed.”
Paxos said he also plans to bring everyone back, from Crowley to the waiters and waitresses, and hopefully, the customers.
“We’re all like family here,” Crowley had said in September. “Everybody gets along.”
“As far as I’m concerned, I want to rebuild,” Paxos said.