The owners of Dogz Bar and Grill are turning to the public for help with their most recent setback, a blaze that caused major damage to the Belmont Shore restaurant that was on the verge of re-opening after a flood shuttered it nearly 18 months ago.
Dogz, which was set for a July 1 reopening, was damaged by a suspected arson fire earlier this month. The fire came amid efforts to reopen the business after a delivery truck sheared off a fire hydrant that sent water dumping onto its roof last January.
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Dogz owner Rod Frontino and his wife, Kelly, have started a crowdfunding effort with a goal of $50,000 to help offset the costs that will likely come after the damage suffered during the three-alarm fire June 12.
He said the current goal of $50,000 will serve a “nice downpayment” for the work that isn’t going to be covered by insurance. The restaurant will likely have to be completely gutted due to the amount of water used to douse the fire.
Frontino said the restaurant had received final approval for exterior designs the same day of the fire, which destroyed the remodeled restaurant’s interior. Everything was new inside the bar except for the original bar top, which was recently refinished and the original building had been brought up to current building code.
“Other than a death in the family, that was the most saddening, emotional day that my family and I had ever experienced,” Frontino wrote. “Eighteen months of time, energy, effort, and all of our financial resources went up in flames before our eyes.”
Three 14-year-old boys were arrested in connection with a string of arson fires in the area last week, including the one that damaged Dogz. Frontino said that he’s hopeful they will be brought to justice and that the next rebuild of his business won’t take as long as the first attempt.
Frontino is hopeful that the city permits that were acquired to remodel Dogz after the flood can be used to expedite the second salvaging of the business. While he’s unsure of how long the rebuild could take, he said it could be as soon as four to eight months, depending on how long new plans for the roof might take to complete.
“It’s not going to take another year and a half, that’s for sure,” Frontino said.