Fifty-five days. That’s how long it took Scojo’s Eatery in Surf City to welcome back customers after an early morning fire on Jan. 21 damaged the top floor of the family restaurant.

“It has been overwhelming,” said Andrew Clark, who along with his wife, Donna, son Andy Jr. and daughter Peyton assumed ownership about a week before Memorial Day 2020, when asked what the public reception was when the eatery reopened this week.