The restaurant at the Grover Cleveland service area on the New Jersey Turnpike north will reopen next month in a new building after the old one was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
A New Jersey Turnpike service area that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy three years ago is scheduled to reopen next month.
A rebuilt Grover Cleveland Service area, located in Woodbridge north of Exit 11 is scheduled to re-open in late November before the Thanksgiving travel rush, said Thomas Fenney, a New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman.
Flooding from the Woodbridge Creek, located behind the service area "totally demolished" the restaurant building and patrons had to be rescued from the tops of their vehicles in the parking lot, officials said
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The Turnpike Authority paid $8 million to contractor HMS Host, the operator of turnpike and parkway service area restaurants to construct the building. Work started in 2013, and the old building was torn down last year
The gas station remained open after the storm, but required a diesel generator to power the fuel pumps because of damage by the storm to the electrical system.
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Meanwhile, commuters temporarily lost a different place to grab a burger and a coffee on the Garden State Parkway.
The restaurant on Vauxhall service area on the Parkway North was temporarily closed on Oct. 2 due to a leaky roof, which has turned in to a multi-month closure to replace that roof, Fenney said.
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