Heavy rains slammed New Jersey on Friday, and coastal Monmouth County bore the brunt of the hit. Multiple lakes in Asbury Park spilled over their banks, flooding streets and businesses nearby. Days after the rain let up, some of the areas that got the most water are still working to recover.
“Within 30 minutes, I had water from my patio up through four inches throughout my entire place,” said Rob Wile, the co-owner of Asbury Park Distillery Co. “So it was almost like the floodgates opened, and there was really no stopping it at that point. It’s the worst I’d ever seen.”
Rich Crocker, owner of Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten, says he will know the final tab when an insurance adjuster stops by. It took about five days to pump out the water. Crocker says a little flooding in the basement is normal, but last Friday’s flooding was wildly out of the ordinary. Business owners in Asbury say it was worse than Superstorm Sandy 11 years ago.
“I can tell you our system has been totally destroyed. All our refrigeration totally destroyed, our bathroom downstairs, totally destroyed. I mean, it’s just a complete mess down there,” Crocker said.
The next few weeks are critical, business owners said, and will determine if both businesses can keep their doors open.
