Hurricane restaurant gets boost from Irene

Business partners Dean George, left, and Bob Engel, inside their restaurant Hurricane Grill and Wings in Syosset. Engel said business was brisk during Tropical Storm Irene. (Sept. 8, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
A restaurant named Hurricane Grill & Wings was to open in Syosset on Aug. 28, the day Hurricane Irene approached Long Island before sweeping across it as a tropical storm. Owner Bob Engel had to delay the opening because of a power outage, but managed to do so the next day, to a restaurant packed with customers.
Hurricane Grill & Wings' first week was a bang-up one, thanks to Irene. Homeowners out of power had to eat, Engel said.
"Business was incredibly brisk," said Engel, who owns the restaurant, part of a chain, with three partners, Michael Friedman, Dean George and Jim Brown. "We were at capacity." The restaurant seats 152.
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