1010 WINS Series: Open For Business

As small businesses try to stay afloat after Hurricane Sandy, 1010 WINS has launched a campaign to let you know how you can help. "Open For Business" is a daily segment in which a different local, small business will be highlighted on the air. Each day, a different business will share their story about their struggles after Sandy.

Listen between 5 am and 11 am each morning to hear about a small shop that is open and in need of your business to survive. Each day, after you hear the name of the business and their story, 1010 WINS is asking you as part of the campaign to re-tweet the name of the store on your twitter account with hashtag #OpenForBusiness to spread the word.

Check back often for the updated list and, if you know of a small business that's reopened after Hurricane Sandy, please email 1010 WINS news director Ben Mevorach here mevorach@wins.com.

Blue Restaurant
1115 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10310

The Staten Island venue suffered minor flooding and lost power for a little over a week.

Billy's Beach Cafe

Billy's Beach Café had to take a month off after Sandy hit Long Beach. They were forced to close and renovate their place, but what really held them back was the lack of electric and power.

Bliss Marine
331 Hillside Terrace, Staten Island, NY

The store in Great Kills Harbor was flooded with water and has not had much business following the storm.

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Botta di Vino
357 Van Brunt St., Brooklyn, NY 11231

The owners of Botta di Vino live in Red Hook and were displaced from their home. The storm also dumped 1.5 feet of water in their wine cellar. The establishment took a heavy hit when anchor store Fairway was shut down - owners say they now make in a week what they once made in a day.

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Bowne Printer & Stationer
211 Water St, New York, NY 10038

Bowne Printer endured extensive damages to not only the store itself, but also to the merchandise within the store prior to even opening the front doors to customers. The worst part of the entire situation was that they were meant to have their "grand opening" on November 8th, but following Sandy, they lost both time and money which set them back. Although they had a rough start, the owner says that it serves as a great conversational piece when meeting new customers.

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CowGirl Seahorse Restaurant
259 Front Street, New York, NY 10038

Cow Girl Sea Horse says that they were very fortunate to have volunteers helping them get back on their feet, but unfortunately, customers are what she really needs. The store was flooded with nearly six feet of water and everything inside had to be replaced.

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Fort Defiance
365 Van Brunt St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(347) 453-6672

Like most small businesses in Red Hook, Fort Defiance took a big hit when Sandy shut down anchor store Fairway Market. Owner St. John Frizzell had to deal with a flooded basement, the gutting of his restaurant, and the replacing of all of his furniture.

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Foxy and Winston
392 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

After suffering from flood damage, this store specializing in customized stationary and textiles reopened on the Friday after the storm.

Giardino D'Oro Ristorante Italiana
5 Gold Street, New York, NY 10038

This restaurant was forced to close when Sandy flooded the upstairs, downstairs, kitchen and wine cellar. They were able to renovate, restore and reopen the restaurant the first week in December. With many of the residential and business buildings in the area still critically damaged, Giardino D'Oro needs help now more than ever attracting new customers to their business.

Jordan Lobster Farms

When Sandy slammed through Jordan Lobster Farms on the south shore of Long Island, the surge quickly picked up equipment weighing hundreds of pounds. Owner steve Jordan said they worked hard to rebuild, but the area is still a mess. Even so, Jordan Lobster Farms is open - and you can bring your kids.

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Jeremy's Ale House
228 Front Street, New York, NY 10038

Made Fresh Daily
226 Front St., New York, NY 10038

One of the first businesses to reopen after the storm, Made Fresh Daily is suffering due to the missing foot traffic of surrounding retail and office workers. They were hit with nearly eight feet of water and had to almost start from scratch when renovating their store.

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Mark Joseph Steakhouse
261 Water St New York, NY 10038
(212) 277-0020

After the first floor and second floor of the restaurant flooded, Mark Joseph Steakhouse was forced to rip up the carpeting, replace the floors, rip out portions of the walls that were affected by Sandy. They needed to do electrical work as well to ensure that their place was ready to re-open the front doors.

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Meade's Restaurant
22 Peck Slip, New York 10038

The folks at Meade's said Sandy left just as quickly as it came, but unfortunately left a great deal of work for all of the staff. They have a mark on the walls from where the water reached five feet at one point during the storm and they are keeping it to remind everyone that they survived the storm.

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MHT Lighting
1961 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, New York 10302

Most of MHT lighting was underwater after Sandy. President Tom Spinelli said he worked around the clock with cleanup crews who generously offered their time to his business. After a couple of months, he was able to begin working again and hopes people will continue to support their business.

Metal and Thread
398 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

A jewelry shop that is on a mission to bring the work of local artisans to the eyes and hearts of New Yorkers, Metal and Thread is struggling to make up for the sales lost during the holiday season.

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Midland Wine & Liquor
A wall of water that slammed New Dorp and Midland beaches on Staten Island during Sandy drowned shops nearby, like Midland Wine and Liquor. With six feet of salt water inside the show, owner Vinny Viola said he lost a lot more than inventory.

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New Leaf Restaurant

The Sandy storm surge didn't reach upper Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park – but the hurricane force winds sure did. The force pulled down trees, closed the park for weeks, and put New Leaf Restaurant out of business.

One Girl Cookies
33 Main St (corner of Water), Brooklyn NY

One Girl Cookies was under 4 feet of water and had to replace their custom cabinets that were destroyed, and repair or replace equipment like refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, etc. The estimated total cost including lost revenue, inventory, and damages will be about $110,000.

Pasanella and Son Vintners
115 South St., Manhattan, NY

Wine shop opened in 2006 on ground floor. Marco and family and tenants live upstairs. On night of storm putting out sandbags, sump pumps, generators with a tenant who survived Katrina and 15 minutes later the door burst open with water. Had 6.5 feet of water, damage to inventory. walls, display cases. Threw out garbage, started construction, and 3 weeks later reopened doors. "Send your thirsty friends! People don't realize the extent of the devastation from this storm and the importance of going out and helping the local small businesses."

Tom's Restaurant
782 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, 11238

Tom's had just opened their Coney Island location on Sept. 23, a little over a month before the storm. They lost power for 2 days, wiping out their food inventory. They incurred about $8,000 in damages, with no heat for 5 weeks and damage to gas and electric lines.

The Blue Bungalow
165 Beach 116th Street, Rockaway Beach, NY 11694

There are two Blue Bungalow locations, one in Rockaway and one in Long Beach. Superstorm Sandy nearly stopped co-owner, Liz Smith Breslin's second shop from ever being successful. Both of her stores suffered significant damage to their stock and interior. Usually The Blue Bungalow experiences a lucrative holiday season, but ever since Sandy hit both neighborhoods, each business is suffering as a result of empty neighborhoods and the lack of shoppers.

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Fusion Fitness

Fusion Fitness in Long Beach was all set to have its Grand Opening on Monday, October 29th, 2012, when Sandy hit. Now, Long Beach is still struggling because so many people haven't been able to return to their homes all these months later.

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