Pass-a-Grille beaches Paradise Grille reopens months after storms
PASS-A-GRILLE BEACH, Fla. - Monday was a moment 122 days in the making for Paradise Grille in Pass-a-Grille Beach.

Mike DeMaio reopening Paradise Grille in Pass-a-Grille Beach.
"It was a tough 122 days, just, you know, knowing, ‘hey, are we going to get it done,’ Mike DeMaio, the restaurant’s Director of Operations, said. "Can we get it done? Are the other guests going to come back?"
Why did Paradise Grille close?
Dig deeper:
The Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce held a reopening ribbon cutting Monday morning for Paradise Grille.
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Like several other businesses and homes, Hurricanes Helene and Milton forced sand and saltwater into the restaurant, wrecking all of their equipment.
DeMaio said they lost close to $1 million in the storms.
"The water went through us. It came in and went through us, you know, probably a couple of feet of water. But the majority of our damage was with the sand because of the beach renourishment and just got completed," DeMaio said. "I think we got to enjoy that for one day, unfortunately," DeMaio said. "I had to rent a Bobcat, and I was in a Bobcat for three days just moving sand and getting it out of our way."
View the damage:
Rebuilding Paradise Grille
Some staff helped rebuild, and others worked at the Upham Beach location.
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"Everything in the restaurant is brand new. We literally have a brand-new restaurant from walls, ceilings, lighting, and hurricane shutters," DeMaio said. "Luckily, this building is poured concrete. Even the ceiling is six inches thick concrete. So, we feel grateful that we were still standing after all the storms."
Restaurant goers react
What they're saying:
Wayne Rhinehart and his wife Joyce have been vacationing in Pass-a-Grille for years and say Paradise Grille is one of their favorites.
"We love Paradise Grille," Wayne Rhinehart said. "We were heartbroken when we heard that it suffered the damage," Rhinehart said.
Rhinehart was the first customer on Saturday during the soft reopening. He was already back on Monday.
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"We watched it on social media and couldn't wait to get back down here and just, you know, give our support," said Joyce Rhinehart.
How did the reopening go?
Wayne and Joyce Rhinehart weren’t alone on Monday. There was a steady crowd for most of the day.

Restaurant goers waiting in line at Paradise Grille in Pass-a-Grille Beach.
"People are coming out of the woodwork. But I think it's again, it's getting back to normalcy," DeMaio said. "I've been a restaurant business my whole life, and I'm always used to saying thank you, thank you, thank you. Yesterday, literally everybody is thanking us just for being open."
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"There are so many people who just love this island and want it back and see the beach thriving," DeMaio said.
A long lunch line acts as a symbol that paradise, literally and figuratively, is back.
Paradise Grille is open from 7 a.m. until a half-hour past sunset every day.
The Source: FOX 13's Kailey Tracey collected the information for this story.
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