A Tale of Two Beech St. Businesses

Minnesota’s and Caffe Laguna, two West End restaurants, can serve as a microcosm of Long Beach’s post-Hurricane Sandy business district.

Tom Corning, the owner of both establishments, said that while Minnesota’s sustained about five feet of flooding in the storm and was immediately gutted, rebuilt and reopened by February, Caffa Laguna’s basement had 11 feet of water and under new insurance stipulations its return is unlikely.

And Minnesota’s would have been equally difficult to reopen, Corning said, if not for the help of local contractors, electricians and plumbers.

But rebuild he did out of his pocket. The redesigned interior now sports reclaimed barn wood, better cooking and refrigeration technologies, and bamboo floors and tables are in the works.

Minnesota’s is located at 959 West Beech Street.