“I had just commented that morning that we needed some rain.”
It’s easy to smile now for Maureen Craig. She’s about to re-open her restaurant, an iconic restaurant in Savannah. There was never any question whether or not they’d re-open after what can only be called a catastrophic flood forced them to close back in May. It was a Tuesday morning like any other. The kitchen staff was prepping for dinner service. Management, including Maureen, who opened the restaurant in 2003 with her late husband Hillary, went about its business. “We had a group of 40 coming in that night. In addition to our regular dinner service. So we were busy.” Then it happened.
“I heard someone scream from the other side of the kitchen” Maureen recalls. “I walked over and looked and the wall had caved in.” Water was pouring into the restaurant. Yes, it was raining outside. One of the first heavy rains of the summer. The water came quickly. “I laugh now.” she says. “But I tried to close the kitchen door to keep the water in the kitchen.” Mother nature had her own plans.
Within 5 minutes, Alligator Soul, Savannah’s most popular underground spot, was full of water. Ankle deep in some spots, deeper in others. “We were lucky we weren’t electrocuted.” Maureen says pointing to a corner. “The water over there just missed an electrical outlet.” Some estimates put 15-20 cubic yards of dirt in the kitchen that had broken through a wall. A pipe out in the lane had burst. A storm water drain, thankfully not sewage. Water, however, will find its way. And it did. Clearly the restaurant was closed for business. The only question was going to be for how long. “We knew immediately it would be bad. Weeks not days.” Maureen says. The day, however, has come.
Nine weeks to the day after that incident Alligator Soul is re-opening for business. The amount of work that has gone into this particular re-build, nothing short of amazing. “Everything here was torn out and rebuilt to look the same.” she says.
To the untrained eye, the dining room looks just as it did. Not until it’s pointed out can you see a different shade of mortar between bricks around the fireplace and in certain spots on the walls. “All of it was torn out.” Maureen tells me “All of it rebuilt.” That would include the bar. “A lot of the bar was saved. I told them they had to save Hilary’s bar. He designed that on a cocktail napkin.” There is where you will find Maureen’s not-so-secret motivation to rebuild this space, get it right and make it just as good, if not better, than it ever was.
Maureen admits, at the young age of 63, that she has cut back her hours. She does pace herself a little bit better than she did in March of 2003, but there is no plan to retire anytime soon. “I enjoy it too much.” She and Executive Chef Stephen McLain have a tremendous following. A following that started when she and her husband Hilary Craig first opened their doors to this, their 3rd restaurant, in Savannah. “We started in Everett, Washington.” Maureen says. “Later, we opened what became a top 10 restaurant in Seattle.” The standard of excellence was set a long time ago. Guests will tell you it has continued. You don’t just fold us shop because of a little dirt and water in the kitchen. Truthfully, while I never asked, it is obvious the thought never entered her mind.
There are a few cosmetic additions here and there. Some musical instruments on the walls, some cook books in the windows. “Some of those books are Hilary’s.” Maureen tells me. Chef Stephen added a few of his own. Largely, Alligator Soul hasn’t missed a beat in the dining room or in the kitchen. The day I visited looked like a busy Saturday morning. Kitchen staff was grinding beef and pork, Alligator boudin was being prepared across the way. “We are getting ready for next week.” Chef tells me “Getting the few new staff members we have up to speed on how things work around here.”
“We lost a few employees.” she says about the time spent rebuilding “One of our cook’s wife was pregnant. They had to leave. Another moved to Pennsylvania” she adds. “We got about 30 of our 43 employees back.” Sounds like the making of seamless operation. Even if the work going on up on street level make it look like something pretty bad happened here.
Maureen is clearly excited, if not a little re-energized. There is plenty of good cheer in the room with the entire restaurant staff, they are back to work and will be pleasing plenty of customers within days.
Just don’t expect Maureen to pray for rain anytime soon.
See you on TV,
Jesse
