Rebuilt Papa Joe's opens to big crowds with familiar food, new look

SPRING LAKE

Her wails were loud. So loud that it hurt. But the roar of the fire consumed Donna Giarratana's cries as she and her husband watched in disbelief as the restaurant they called home for more than 30 years burned to the ground in January 2014.

While they watched as flames consumed Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant, God calmed her, Giarratana said. Nobody was inside. She looked at her husband, "Papa Joe" Giarratana, who stood stoically with his hands firmly in his pockets. They both agreed: They would rebuild from the ashes.

This week, a little more than a year later, Donna Giarratana found herself sobbing again. But these were tears of joy and a feeling of overwhelming love as she and her husband opened the doors to the new Papa Joe's, nestled in the same corner at Spring Lake Highway and Cortez Boulevard, east of Brooksville.

The restaurant "quietly" opened Tuesday to grand support, as hundreds of people came by to dine for lunch and dinner.

"Everywhere you look, there's love," Giarratana said. "This is one of the reasons we rebuilt."

Since the fire consumed the 5,000-square-foot building in the early morning of Jan. 24, 2014, the Giarratanas have received generous support from the community. Fundraisers for their 45 displaced employees raised more than $15,000. Other restaurants hired some of the employees; some were able to work in the Giarratanas' catering business.

The Giarratanas hired only local contractors and others to help rebuild the restaurant. The county has also been supportive, the couple said, helping to keep construction moving quickly. And during the weeks before the reopening, a stream of longtime friends and supporters called and stopped in.

"The community has really been here for us," said Joe Giarratana. "Their support means the most."

The support continued Tuesday as crowds poured in when the doors opened at 11 a.m. Amid a few glitches with computers and the sound system, everyone seemed to enjoy the restaurant's elegant new look and the food.

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Rebuilt Papa Joe's opens to big crowds with familiar food, new look