Shore Army and Navy Back After Sandy Devastation

Today, every inch of Shore Army and Navy is filled with merchandise and military memorabilia. But getting the iconic Seaside Heights store up and running after Superstorm Sandy was no easy task.

Owners Ted and Denise Domaracki did as much as they could to salvage merchandise from flooding. Despite their efforts, most items were destroyed and had to be thrown away.

"It took several months to get things up and rolling again," said Denise Domaracki.

Domaracki and his wife bought Shore Army and Navy, which is located off of Hamilton Avenue, 18 years ago. The Domarackis called inquiring about a camouflage jacket for their son and the owner asked if they wanted to buy the business instead.

"Some of (the merchandise) we bought 10 years ago when there was plenty of supply for it, some of it 18 years ago," said Ted Domaracki.

"We basically knew nothing about the military business. We just jumped into it and learned as we went along," said Denise Domaracki.

Even though they do carry items for the normal beach goer, the Jersey Shore business tends to draw in a more unique crowd such as first responders, scout organizations, and military buffs.

"Maybe 50 percent of our merchandise is made up of things that are readily available, but a good portion of it is general surplus stuff like ammo cans and demilitarized amo," Mr. Domaracki said. 

The Domarackis used those same ammo cans to stack merchandise high off of the ground in when preparing for Sandy.

"It gave us another 8 to 10 inches, but we didn't even think we needed that," Ted Domaracki said.

However, the water rose much higher than they had anticipated. Most of the unique merchandise was either lost or damaged.

"We had a World War II United States Naval sword in one of the cases up front and it ended up under water. We cleaned it as best we could, but I don't think it's ever going to go back in its sheath again," Mr. Domaracki said.

Even though they also sustained major damage to their home, the Domarackis made the store their first priority in order to generate income quickly.

"We concentrated on the business so we could get things moving in the right direction again," Ted Domaracki said. 

Now eight months after the storm, Shore Army and Navy shows no signs of destruction.

"The first thing people say is, 'I guess you didn't get any damage,'" Ted Domaracki said.

This story was written by Carly Kilroy.