'Thrilled To Be Back': Peabody's Breaking Grounds Cafe Recovers From Fire With Fresh Look

PEABODY, MA — There is a whole lot new, a bit of the old familiar and a huge sense of relief and excitement among the staff and customers as Breaking Ground Cafe in Peabody reopens three months after water damage from a building fire forced its closure and extensive renovation.

The cafe, which employs members of the Northeast Arc community, was closed for 91 days while building and business owners worked to replace the floors, ceiling, furniture and paint. A failure of the air conditioning system caused a further delay earlier this month before the soft opening last week and a full opening with complete staffing and normal operating hours this week.

"We are open and we are looking better than ever right now," Tim Brown, of Northeast Arc, told Patch on Monday. "Everyone is thrilled to be back at the cafe and the neighbors are so excited to have us back as well."

The shop at 67 Main Street was forced to close following the May 10 fire that damaged apartments in the building and caused significant water damage to the cafe.

"Once we saw the extent of the damage we knew it would take us a little bit longer than we had originally planned," Brown said. "The priority for the building owner and for us was to make sure all of the housing units above us were fixed so people were able to return home."

Renovations in the cafe itself began in June with an eye toward updating the six-year-old shop while at the same time keeping some of its signature elements.

"We took advantage of the time to carefully think about what we wanted the new look and feel to be," Brown said. "Because we had to replace all of the furniture and repaint, we had a chance to really brighten up the place and bring people in where they would see a big change."

One of the returning aspects is the uplifting, empowering and sometimes just plain fun slogans on the tabletops that Create & Escapes DIY Workshop next door was able to stencil and recreate.

"We felt so supported by the Peabody business community throughout the whole process," Brown said. "Everyone kept checking to see how we were doing, following our progress and just being the biggest cheerleaders we could ask for."

Brown said that all employees of the cafe were extended opportunities to work, gain a salary and continue to receive benefits during the closure, while the internship program shifted to other businesses until they were able to return to the cafe this week.

"People have been fully understanding that we were closed for 90 days and had to relearn how to make the great food we always made and the drinks we always made," Brown said. "There was some relearning last week and we hope this week will be incredibly smooth."

Brown said an official event is being planned for Aug. 23 to fully celebrate the grand reopening.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)