Since the initial shock of seeing the extensive damage at his restaurant, the owner of Tom Moore's Tavern told The Royal Gazette he has been taking things day by day.

Bruno Fiocco said that he was shocked at the destruction wreaked on his Island gem by Hurricane Fabian last week and had still not been able to locate some of the restaurant's refrigerators.

Hard hits were delivered to all the restaurant's equipment as well as the exterior patios and Mr. Fiocco said he did not expect Tom Moore's Taverm would reopen before next March.

The building, in which the restaurant is set, was built in 1652, but it received no real damage although the forest and nature reserve surrounding it were devastated by the storm.

The restaurant, on the other hand, was flooded in at least four feet of water after the sea and the salt water lake nearby rose during the category three hurricane.

Mr. Fiocco said: "There was all sorts of stuff in the mangroves, chairs, benches and we still can't locate some of our fridges.

"There is an electric pole, which has fallen near the gas tubes, the Fire Service came, but there was nothing that they could do until Belco come.

"We can't really get rid of a lot of the things that need to be thrown away."

He said everything was fine during the storm until after 4 p.m. when the winds changed. It was then that the waters surged and ruined the restaurant that he has owned for 18 years.

"Things happen. It is bad, but it is not that bad. We will keep working to clean it up and take one day at a time," said Mr. Fiocco.