Just days after fire tore through the back portion of The Shack at Hull Bay, the beachside restaurant was back in business Tuesday, offering a limited menu and hosting its regularly scheduled bingo night.
“We got lucky,” said owner Lee Steiner. “The fire was already going when the morning crews got here to open up, but no one was hurt. It could have been much worse.”
The fire broke out early last Friday morning, damaging the back portion of the property, including the kitchen, storage areas, laundry room, and bathrooms. Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene around 7 a.m. and battled the flames for over two hours before bringing them under control by 9:45 a.m. No other structures were affected.
In the aftermath, the Hull Bay community wasted no time coming together to get the restaurant up and running again, Steiner said. Staff and volunteers worked around the clock to restore water and electricity, clean up the affected areas, and make necessary adjustments to keep the restaurant operational.
“We’ve been working nonstop to get things back to normal,” Steiner said. “The back portion is screened off, as we’ve been asked to do, but we’re open. The community really stepped up, and that means everything – it was amazing to see the support, and we are grateful for the efforts of Fire Services, which got everything under control quickly.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Arson Investigation and Prevention Team. In the meantime, the team at Hull Bay Hideaway is focusing on rebuilding.
“We’re taking it one step at a time,” Steiner said. “But we’re hoping to get back to full operating capacity as soon as possible.”
