VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A newly-raised Bubba's Seafood Restaurant was untouched by Hurricane Dorian. To the left of the business near Lynnhaven Inlet, The Back Deck’s outdoor bar flooded.
Nora Conn, a manager at Bubba’s, said similar flooding would have been the case at Bubba’s if the owners hadn’t raised the building earlier this year.
“We would've been submerged. It would’ve been really bad,” said Conn.
Conn has witnessed Bubba’s vulnerability to flooding throughout her 20 years working at the restaurant.
“During the four nor’easters that we had in the past, it would go up at least three feet inside,” said Conn.
That's what led the owners to raise the building’s foundation by five feet earlier this year.
“I sat over there and watched them build it, move it, reinforce it, and move it back,” said Conn. “[I] cried, hoping and praying that it would open and hurry with no problems, 'cause I really love this place.”
When Dorian came around, neither Bubba's deck nor the inside of the restaurant flooded, a big difference compared to the arrival of storms in years past.
The owners of Bubba’s also own The Back Deck, and although the neighboring business did have flooding in its outdoor bar, the owners don’t plan to raise The Back Deck's foundation.