Seafood Etc. to reopen in time for holidays

Norwich - The owners of Seafood Etc. market and take-out restaurant want to put the last big holiday catastrophe behind them and gear up for a cheerful Christmas season with the grand re-opening of the Norwich business next Friday.

The store and restaurant, all its equipment and freezers and coolers full of pre-July 4 stock were destroyed in an accidental electrical fire June 27 that caused extensive smoke damage throughout the building.

The owners not only had to discard hundreds of pounds of fresh and frozen seafood and other goods after the fire, but they soon learned smoke had penetrated machinery, insulation and duct works. All of it had to be replaced.

"You wouldn't think smoke could get into stainless steel, but it did," retired founder Bob Shortman said Friday.

After five months of intense work and pushing contractors to get the project done in time for Christmas, Shortman and his daughter, owner Sharon Clachrie, are ready to reopen on Dec. 11. A parade of city and health inspectors combed the building Thursday and gave approvals for the store and restaurant to re-occupy the building.

Norwich Director of Inspections James Troeger said a few minor details still need to be worked out, but they won't delay the opening. He issued a temporary certificate of occupancy.

"We won't be 100 percent done, but we will be 90 percent," Clachrie said Friday. "We'll have holiday shrimp, treats, fresh fish, fish and chips, everything to get through the holidays. We're opening up in a whirlwind."

Clachrie said her father recently turned 80, and the family really wanted to reopen the store to help celebrate. Shortman admitted he'll be glad to shed the stress of rebuilding after the fire.

Co-managers Patty Wright and Diane Harkness also will be back when the store and restaurant reopen Friday at 9 a.m.

Although the layout remains the same, regular customers will find a few changes. Gone is all the old New England nautical décor - wooden boats, netting, buoys and nautical signs. New coolers, freezers, stoves, fryers, sinks and vents shine under the bright new lights.

Shortman added one new renovation touch. Where a wall once divided the customers waiting for their take-out orders from the cooks now stands a tall open counter with a view of the kitchen.

Shortman said he wanted customers to see the work done to prepare the food.

Now, he hopes those customers come back.

"We've had quite a few customers drive all the way to our Pawcatuck store, which was nice," Shortman said.

c.bessette@theday.com