January 21, 2021
Mike Wolfschmidt/@surfcityfire49/Facebook
Scojo's, a family-owned restaurant at 307 North Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City, New Jersey, was damaged in a fire during the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021.
A popular restaurant at the Jersey Shore was damaged early Thursday morning in Surf City, leaving its immediate future in doubt.
Scojo's, a family friendly eatery on Long Beach Island, suffered extensive damage to the second floor of the building on Long Beach Boulevard, the Surf City Volunteer Fire Company said in a Facebook post.
What a hard morning for our Scojos family. We suffered a terrible fire at the restaurant last night.No one was present...
Posted by Scojo's Restaurant on Thursday, January 21, 2021
Firefighters responded to the scene just before 1 a.m. and were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to the first floor.
In a Facebook post, Scojo's called the fire a "heartbreaking blow" in what has already been a challenging year during the coronavirus pandemic.
"As you all know, we were invested in making the restaurant better every day despite COVID 19. We poured blood, sweat and tears into the place. Heartbreaking to see our beloved restaurant as the way she stands today," the post said.
The family-owned and operated business has been in Surf City since 1998 and has been a local favorite for breakfast and lunch.
It's unclear how long the restaurant will remain closed, but the owners said they hope to welcome guests back to Scojo's as soon as possible.
"We will persevere like we always do and hope to see all of our smiling patrons back soon!" the restaurant said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Ocean County Fire Marshal's Office.
