A time frame hasn't been set for the reopening of The Waterfront Pavilion.
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The popular restaurant, at the river end of Manning Street in Taree, was damaged by flood water in March.
While the premises is structurally sound, the floor must be sanded back and varnished before trade can resume again.
In the interim, chairs, tables and stock are stacked and lined up at one end of the restaurant to allow the repairs to begin.
Carly Sims, licensee of The Waterfront and The Exchange Hotel, didn't believe flood water would get inside the restaurant.
Water rose over Queen Elizabeth Park before coming up through the floorboards and the back veranda.
"I didn't think it was going to come through, I thought it might lap the veranda and that would be it," Carly said.
"The water just came in so quickly and we couldn't stop it, even with sandbags. It went from a couple of inches to above your knee in less than an hour."
Once the water began to subside and access to the building was permitted, staff started the clean-up.
"We got straight into it and spent hours cleaning and getting as much done as we could," Carly said.
Carly said the flood caused a financial hit to the business but was pleased The Exchange was only closed for a few days.
"We were really lucky with that, we only had to shut down for a few days due to flooding in the cellar," Carly said.
"As soon as we got all our equipment checked and tested we were back up and running."
The bottle shop, between the restaurant and pub, was back in action in under two weeks.
"We pushed really hard to get that going," Carly said.
The ordeal was a shock to some staff.
They've lost hours because the restaurant isn't open but they have charged on and have done everything they've been asked of to help clean, move mud and restock shelves," Carly said.
It's been a rough start for The Waterfront, which opened in its current format in 2019.
"We got hit last year with covid and had to shut down," Carly recalled.
"We finally came back and everything was going fantastic and then this (floods) happened and shut us down again."
Many patrons have expressed their eagerness to return for a feed and a few beers.
"Everyone is so keen to come back and we are so keen to have it open again," Carly said.
She was disappointed the restaurant wouldn't be open in time for Mother's Day this Sunday.
But when it does reopen, there will be a new menu and selection of beers on tap.
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