Eateries Feel Good, Bad, Ugly of Irene

If you were a restaurant owner in Barrington during Hurricane Irene, you hope another 20 years passes before the regional goes through another big blow.

If you were a coffee shop in town, though, you enjoyed plenty of customers in lines that stretched out the doors.

Paul Gaynor, the manager of on Barton Avenue, said the restaurant’s power was out last Sunday and Monday. Power came back on Tuesday, he said, but the restaurant did not open until Wednesday afternoon at 4:30.

“We had to dispose of perishables,” he said.

The restaurant lost all its business without patrons coming through their doors for three days.  Now that they’ve re-opened, Gaynor said, business has been about the same as usual.

Over at on County Road, however, Irene had a very different impact.

“We’ve been very busy,” said the store manager.

Even though there was no power for two days -- Sunday and Monday, power returned later in the day on Tuesday and the surge of customers was, well, like a storm surge.

Yes, there were lines out the door -- with many customers unable to brew a pot of coffee, let alone eat, at home without electricity.

The coffee shop in the Barrington shopping plaza on County Road told a similar story.

“There have been constant lines all day, every day,” said the shift supervisor.

Starbucks was closed last Sunday and Monday; it opened later in the day on Tuesday. Customers surged right in. It's been the same since then.

Managers of other restaurants contacted by Patch could not be reached for comment. But without power, they were out of business for a couple of days.

Then there is The Daily Scoop ice cream shop on County Road. It appears to have closed for the season even though summer still has a few weeks to go.