BACK ON THE GRID!

After what seemed like an eternity, the neighborhood FINALLY got their power restored at about 1am on Saturday morning.  That's over 100 hours of darkness that we endured and let me tell you, it was not fun.  Again, when you compare it to the anguish that the residents of Staten Island, New Jersey, The Rockaways and Breezy Point are currently dealing with, we have little to complain about.  But it still sucked ass nevertheless.

Once we got our power restored and we got our bearings in order, we re-opened the bar on Saturday afternoon and for the most part, we were able to jump back on the saddle with very little trouble.  The afternoon and evening flowed pretty smoothly, with plenty of thirsty patrons, who no doubt were looking to shake off their cabin fever.  Many of the patrons swapped stories of their "NYC Blackout experience" as well as thinking about their friends and relatives who were stuck in the hard-hit areas of the tri-state area.  There were also a good number of people who were in town for the cancelled NYC Marathon, many of them drowning their sorrows over or venting over what took place 24 hours earlier, when the Mayor cancelled the run.  From what I gathered, the majority of the runners (at the bar at least) didn't have an issue as to why the race was cancelled; Most of them were upset about the timing of it.  Had the decision been made earlier, they could have cancelled their flights/hotels, which for many of the runners, cost a great deal of money when traveling from overseas.

Now that we were finally back up and running, we were anxious to help with the Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts. So we held an inpromptu fundraiser yesterday during the Sunday NFL games.  Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our patrons, including the Sunday Brew Crew and the Dolfans NYC, we were able to raise a tidy sum of money (about $500); This will go towards the immediate purchase of much-needed supplies to assist with the recovery efforts in the affected areas.  It was a good time for all,  and great to see friends again after being in the dark for what seemed to be an eternity.

Now that we're more or less back to normal, it's time to focus on the tasks ahead, which is recovery, both in business, and with the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy.  Once again, our hearts go out to those individuals and families who suffered devastating losses in the storm.  We are pulling for you and will continue to do our part to help in the recovery process.

ONE LAST THING: Tuesday is ELECTION DAY for the country.  There's been a LOT of interest in this year's Presidential election; a lot of passion (and heat) in this particular race.  I'm not telling you who to vote for, that's your personal choice.  HOWEVER, what will I say is this: If you don't exercise your right to vote, you sure as hell better not bitch about anything, after the fact.  Seriously.  This is your opportunity to vote your conscience, so take the five minutes and do your duty.

That's a wrap for now.  I'll post again later this week.  In the meantime, stay warm!


Cheers!