A year after Sandy, Pepi’s Restaurant reopens
One year after extensive damage from Superstorm Sandy forced Pepi’s Restaurant to shut its doors, the Southold eatery is back in business.
Nick Gibinska, who has owned Pepi’s Restaurant for nearly 15 years with his wife, Pepi, said the Old Main Road restaurant reopened to the public Nov. 15.
“It feels good,” Mr. Gibinska said of the reopening. “The restaurant is very modern, very clean.”
For now, Mr. Gibinska said, Pepi’s is open for lunch and dinner Thursday through Monday and is available for holiday parties Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
In Nov. 2012, shortly after tropical winds from Superstorm Sandy barreled across the Northeastern coastline, Ms. Gibinska told The Suffolk Times the restaurant had been “destroyed.”
“My deck is inside the restaurant,” she said at the time. “We’re trying to save what we can.”
Following the storm last fall, business was moved to the Red Rooster Bistro, which the couple also owns, on Depot Lane in Cutchogue.