Essex Seafood reopens after devastating fire

Jun. 3—ESSEX — Order up! Essex Seafood is back in business after an expansive renovation to its dining room.

The restaurant at 143 Eastern Ave. (Route 133) reopened Sunday — a year after the original building burned down. Debbie Lane, who co-owns Essex Seafood with her husband, Howie, said business has been brisk and members of the community have been very pleased with the new changes.

"They've all been wonderful," she said. "People have been posting a lot of positive comments on Facebook about it."

Back on Mother's Day in May 2020, a ceiling-mounted gas heater that was left on after closing lit the roof ablaze, causing an estimated $250,000 worth of damage to the rear end of the restaurant. Almost immediately, the Lanes began planning to rebuild.

"We wanted to hire local businesses to work on the reconstruction," said Debbie Lane. "A lot of the the people we hired are our friends."

After an inspection by the Lanes' insurance company, the remains were torn down by Marshall Construction of Essex last August Duncan Tree Landscape & Construction of Essex excavated the site before Craig's Concrete & Construction of Gloucester laid down the cement for the foundation and patio area. Parson Construction in Gloucester began work shortly after — Howie Lane worked as the general contractor. Once the building was up, Glover's Floor Coverings of Gloucester finished off the flooring while Reader Electrical of Essex handled the internal wiring.

Some of Essex Seafood's upgrades are an additional five seating booths, a new credit card and cashier system and entrances and bathrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In order to prevent another disaster like the one before, the Lanes installed fire-resistant ceiling panels.

"They would have stopped the fire if we had them before," Debbie Lane said.

The new fire security sprinkler system is still being worked on. She said it should be up by the end of the month.

Essex Seafood had a soft opening on Friday and Saturday to test out the new space. The Lanes and their staff cooked meals for all the workers and firefighters who helped them in their time of need.

"The fryers wouldn't start at first," Debbie Lane said. "Luckily, we had our heat guy right there to help us out."

Getting the restaurant back on its feet has been a family effort. The Lanes' daughters, Melissa and Leanne, and niece, Mellissa, all took vacation time off from their fulltime jobs to help train new staff.

"My nephew, Colby, who just turned 10, even helped restock the soda machine," Debbie Lane said. "If we didn't have our family helping us, I don't know what we would of done."

While the business is up and running now, Debbie Lane warns customers that there may still be some kinks to work out within the first couple of weeks. By the looks on the happy, mask-free faces eating inside the restaurant Wednesday afternoon, it seems the clientele doesn't mind.

Sharon Parisi of Gloucester ordered a seafood platter to go.

"This is my all-time favorite seafood place," she said. "I used to not want to tell people about it, but with the new place it looks like they're more than able to accommodate."

Michael Cronin may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or mcronin@gloucestertimes.com.

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