There is a lot to be thankful for this holiday season at Uncle Bacala’s.

About two-and-a-half months after a fire shut them down in September, the Garden City Park restaurant, located at 2370 Jericho Turnpike, reopened the day after Thanksgiving. 

The date of the grand reopening is extra special because it marks the first day the restaurant opened its doors in 2004. 

“I had in my head a date that was a little earlier but I knew the importance of re-opening then if it had come to it,” owner Peter Hewitson said. 

The fire occurred the morning of Sunday, Sept. 11 and damaged a majority of the kitchen, Hewitson said.

The Garden City Park Fire Department was dispatched to the scene along with the Mineola Fire Department.

 The owner, who bought out the partners he had opened by 2009, said a large part of the time spent during the closing was waiting for insurance and permits.

“Almost a month I wasn’t allowed to touch anything,” Hewitson said. “Then at that point, it was letting the government, different departments do their thing.”

Now back up and running, Hewitson said the party business for the restaurant took a little dip but walk-ins are back to normal and that he is thankful he was able to keep on almost his entire staff through the fire.

“We’ve been open for a long time and mean a lot to a lot of people,” he said. “I’m glad we can support them as they supported us.”