VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Bubba’s Seafood Restaurant is on the move.
No, they aren’t changing locations, the restaurant is literally moving, as in the foundation. It’s all part of a three-month project to elevate the restaurant and prevent future flooding.
This past weekend the team from Expert House Movers slowly dragged the restaurant 120 feet off the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and into the parking lot.
“It’s more or less building a train track, you put blocks down, you put steel beams, you put steel rollers between it,” said Travis Matyiko. “Sometimes three or four feet a minute, sometimes three or four feet an hour.”
Matyiko rises more than 100 structures a year, mainly homes.
He said Bubba’s is a whole different kind of animal due to its size, 180 tons, and its location, next to the water.
“I look at this building, I go, ‘what was I thinking,’” said Matyiko. “The biggest challenge is the tide, you can work three or four hours during low tide, then you have to sit back and kind of stare and wait four or five hours until low tide came again.”
Matyiko said this kind of work is becoming more and more common across Hampton Roads.
“In the last 10 years the flooding has easily went up two feet, easy, and I told everyone if you flooded once you are going to flood again, and again,” said Matyiko.
He said not only will a little extra height prevent water from seeping in, it will save many home and business owners thousands of dollars a year in insurance.
“If you carry flood insurance and you’re in the flood zone your premiums are like $3,000 a year, if you elevate it above whatever that imaginary number is, it goes down to $300 to $400 a year,” said Matyiko.
Bubba’s anticipates a grand reopening sometime in March.