Swamped by floodwater, Taco Shack in Port Chester vows to repair and reopen
When the remains of Hurricane Ida stormed across the region last week, its heavy rain and floodwaters caused extensive damage to homes, roadways and infrastructure — and it also hit a number of area businesses hard.
Taco Shack on North Main Street in Port Chester, N.Y., which draws a significant number of customers from Greenwich, was flooded and forced to temporarily close its doors, according to its owner, Luis Aguilera. Shoes’ N’ More, a family retail operation that has an outlet on Greenwich Avenue, was forced to close its store in Rye, N.Y., after the storm wiped out its entire inventory, a company representative said.
Taco Shack had weathered the COVID-19 storm intact, only for the Port Chester eatery to get swamped by the floodwaters from Ida, Aguilar said. “Really bad,” Aguilera recalled. “We got about 4 or 5 feet of water in the kitchen and the dining room. All our refrigeration, and all our inventory, couldn’t be salvaged.”
The restaurant is hoping to tackle the cleanup and reopen in several weeks, he said. Extensive repairs are needed, as well as health and building approvals, which have been expedited by village officials in Port Chester, Aguilera said.
The restaurant owner, who lives in Harrison, N.Y., was running another dining operation in his hometown when the coronavirus pandemic struck in March 2020. He said that he and his partners decided to close the Harrison operation to focus on the Port Chester eatery, which had a liquor license and more dining space, during the difficult times of the pandemic.
Aguilera was happy to report that Taco Shack on North Main had made it through the COVID-19 crisis without any reported cases of the virus, and it did not receive any financial assistance.
But then came the storm last week, when Aguilera said he was taking a family vacation to Michigan. He had to turn around Friday after the damage to the business became apparent after the destructive storm brought up to 8 inches of rain and floodwaters to the area.
Itzel Aguilera, Luis’s sister and a partner in the business, set up a GoFundMe Page, to raise $25,000 to help with the repairs and the reopening.
“We lost our sister store on Halstead Avenue [in Harrison] due to the pandemic and gave all our blood sweat and tears into holding up Taco Shack. We survived COVID with zero COVID outbreaks, we followed all protocols and stayed open the whole time; we had no financial help and zero loans or assistance. This time we reach out to all our local community to help re-store the shack. We lost everything in our business and are asking for any assistance possible,” she says on the GoFundMe page.
Chantilly Patisserie, a bakery in Bronxville, N.Y., is coordinating a cupcake sale from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at its location at 135 Parkway in that Westchester County village to help the Port Chester restaurant.
Luis Aguilera said there was a camaraderie and sense of solidarity in the restaurant industry, and a willingness to help those in need. “We’ve done a lot of things in the community, and we have good relations with other restaurants and entrepreneurs,” he said, saying he was grateful for the help.
A big reopening party is planned once the Taco Shack comes back, to thank supporters and repay their kindness — “drinks and food will be on us,” he said.
The restaurant, which sources many of its products locally, including from a farm in northern Westchester, bills itself as “authentic” Mexican cuisine with an emphasis on fresh ingredients.
Aguilera said he had many regular customers in nearby Greenwich and often catered events just over the state line.
Shoes ‘N’ More on Purchase Street in Rye was another casualty of the storm.
“Our newly expanded Rye location lost all the inventory stored in its stockrooms,” said Elizabeth Elliott, a company executive. “Our Rye staff of 20 years have become temporarily displaced and are now working in our sister stores.”
Customers can shop at the other outlets of the family-run business at Bronxville, Greenwich and Mount Kisco, N.Y.
“We are so lucky to work with such amazing people and do what we truly love in such wonderful communities,” Elliott said. “A heartfelt thank you and well wishes to our fellow businesses in Rye who have already shown such compassion to us. We will be back in Rye soon. Everyone stay safe, healthy and kind.”