Remenbering Nature's Fury: Some businesses recover, while others were shuttered by tornado

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April 27, 2012

Remenbering Nature's Fury: Some businesses recover, while others were shuttered by tornado

By Robert Carter North Jefferson News The North Jefferson News Fri Apr 27, 2012, 03:27 PM CDT

If there is such thing as a blessing in disguise, Frank and Peggy Siragusa found one in the 2011 tornado.

The storm heavily damaged the American Legion post in Fultondale, where their Oysters & Stuff restaurant was a tenant of the top floor.

Six months later, the Siragusas were back serving oysters and their famous hamburger steaks — but this time, it was across the city limits in Gardendale, in a much larger facility with better visibility, and far bigger crowds.

“It took us three or four months to even get close to finding a place,” Peggy Siragusa said. “Both mayors [Jim Lowery of Fultondale and Othell Phillips of Gardendale] were looking for us a place. They were very nice in working with us.”

Oysters & Stuff was facing the prospect of a move even before the tornado hit; their lease was expiring at the Legion hall.

The couple looked at several places, but most would have required too much work on the kitchen. Then Phillips found a spot at 528 Decatur Highway. A Mexican restaurant had recently closed there. The building was originally a Pizza Hut, and still bears the distinctive roof design of that chain’s typical locations.

When the Siragusas first saw their restaurant in the aftermath of the storm, it was painful.

“Everything was just torn up. It was like, ‘Oh no, what are we going to do?’ It was terrible,” Siragusa said.

The change in cities didn’t mean much, since about half of the restaurant’s business before the storm came from Gardendale anyway. That hasn’t changed, and in addition to regulars from there and Fultondale, the new location has attracted new diners from surrounding areas.

“We have people from Warrior, Hoover, Cullman, a bunch from Trussville — they come from all over,” Siragusa said. “It’s been a lot better than we even expected. This building is so much larger, and the sign is so much larger. Change is good sometimes.”

While things have worked well for Oysters & Stuff, the aftermath of the tornado has been a mixed bag for other businesses in Fultondale.

Doodle’s Restaurant, a longtime Fultondale mainstay, was damaged beyond repair and has been leveled. Fultondale Auto also didn’t survive.

Two motels at the I-65 exit with U.S. 31 were badly damaged; Days Inn has just begun to rebuild, while the Super 8 motel next door remains boarded up. A Chevron gas station between the two motels, which suffered heavy damage to its canopy, has reopened. Most other business buildings along U.S. 31 have reopened, though a few spaces are vacant.

Other businesses are somewhere in between. Home Field Sports Grill remains in limbo, as its owners have carried on a battle over the Internet with city officials.

The storm has allowed the city to create a project that might make way for more businesses on Walkers Chapel Road. The block-long stretch has been cleared, and is being graded for individual lots.

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Remenbering Nature's Fury: Some businesses recover, while others were shuttered by tornado

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