Following torrent of woes, Al an’ Ruben’s back in business
”When ill luck begins, it does not come in sprinkles, but in showers.”
- Mark Twain, ”Pudd’nhead Wilson”

Al Collins, wife Leesa, and daughter Kayla Greer, assistant chef, are happy to see the “Open” light on again at their restaurant.
For Al and Leesa Collins, owners of Al an’ Ruben’s Bar and Grill in Washington, the word “thunderstorms” might better describe their luck of late.
Shuttered for more than five months, the Jefferson Avenue restaurant reopened last week. A frozen waterline ruptured during a cold snap, flooding the building’s interior and causing nearly $225,000 in damage. A month later, heavy rains flooded the restaurant parking lot – not once, but twice – costing another $50,000.
Al and Leesa’s unlucky streak started Jan. 9, when they boarded the Disney Fantasy cruise ship in Port Canaveral, Fla., bound for ports of call in Mexico, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. They had closed the restaurant for their annual two-week hiatus. It was going to be the trip of a lifetime – a well-deserved respite from the unending demands of running a restaurant capped off by a hectic holiday season.
“It was wonderful, wonderful,” Al said of the trip. “Unbelievable. I’ve never seen so much food in my life.”
Their first night on board, they received a call from home: The alarm system was going off inside the restaurant.
“I asked, ‘Can you hear it?'” Al recalled. “My alarm is really loud.”
No, only the alarm’s light was flashing. Police were called, and determined that the building was secure. Al reasoned that the alarm probably had been tripped by a power surge or a bug that had flown past the sensitive sensor. Because it wasn’t disturbing the peace, they decided to let the light flash.
“Nobody thought nothing of it,” Al said. “I’d have had them kick the door in if I had known.”
When they returned to the restaurant a week later, Al saw the alarm light flashing as he opened the door. Instead of hearing the familiar “woo, woo” sound of the tripped alarm, he instead heard the sound of water rushing.

The gas fireplace and 72-inch TV are focal points of the newly renovated dining room at Al an’ Ruben’s.
“It sounded like a waterfall,” Al said.
“I ran in there,” he said. “I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be a problem.’ I’m looking through the dark, trying to get through. I’m panicking now. I get the light on in the kitchen. I hear the water running by the ice machine (in the room behind the kitchen). I can’t even get by there because the water’s running so hard. So I run back out, get on the phone and call the plumber.”
The next call was to their insurance carrier.
They began to assess the damage. It was significant.
“There were no walls in my office,” Al said. “Everything we stored in there was destroyed.”
Computer, surveillance and phone systems. Payroll files, warranties and other restaurant records. Photos and framed write-ups about the restaurant hanging in the office. All gone. “That’s the part that hurt the worst,” Al added. “I can never get that back.”

A bistro seating area near the bar also plays host to bands on some evenings at Al an’ Ruben’s.
In the kitchen, Al’s new $8,000 double oven he had purchased just a few weeks earlier to bake his signature cheesecakes looked as if it were 80 years old, but it later proved to be salvageable. His fryer, saute cooler, double-door freezer, single-door cooler, ice machine, mixers, silverware and some skillets were destroyed. He lost $5,000 worth of food, $2,000 worth of liquor and $1,500 worth of beer.
The dining room and bar were wrecked as well. All of the flooring, with the exception of the restrooms, was ruined, and the bar itself was contaminated with mold. The benches in the dining room were destroyed, but the metal tables and chairs were spared.

The site of the water line break in the back room off the kitchen.
“We pretty much had to gut the restaurant,” Al said.
Much of the interior losses was covered by insurance, but Al paid roughly $55,000 out of his pocket for some of the repairs and amenities, such as granite countertops for the bar and waitress station, blinds, fireplace and custom bar stools – extra tall and sturdy, built to withstand another water emergency, he noted.
As the couple began to oversee the restoration project, they were dealt another blow when heavy rains hit the area in February, flooding their property twice, damaging the exterior of the building, parking lot, fence, trees and mulch. The damage was not covered by insurance. Al is hoping to get assistance with repairs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Customers rallied around Al and Leesa and came with Bobcats and brooms to help clean debris from the lot as the water receded. A Go Fund Me account was created, raising $4,000.
“We have the most wonderful customers in the world,” Al said.

Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The new bar at Al an’ Ruben’s features a granite countertop where customers can enjoy a few of Al Collins’ signature drinks.
There were other setbacks as well. Equipment delivery and construction delays forced them to push back reopening dates. A truck backed into their lot and pulled down newly installed phone and internet lines.
“It makes you want to give up,” Al said.
Through it all, they remained optimistic, keeping eager customers informed of their progress on Facebook, and at the same time teasing them with photos of some of Al’s signature Italian dishes and homemade cheesecakes.
Finally, Al an’ Ruben’s reopened Tuesday. For the next month, the restaurant is operating on a reservation-only basis to allow the staff time to adjust to new surroundings, computer system and menu, which features expanded signature cocktail offerings and a “Tween Scene” menu designed for a younger palate.

Al an’ Ruben’s new bar features built-in ice troughs, drawers for wine storage and specialty lighting.
The familiar wooden sign that hung above the entrance to the dining room remains, but was given a fresh coat of paint:
“Good food takes time. Please be patient.”
Lucky for Al an’ Ruben’s devoted customers that Al and Leesa are patient, too.