South Orange Restaurant Back In Biz After Fire

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A family-owned South Orange restaurant is back in business after a fire forced a temporary closure earlier this month.

Chris's Family Restaurant on South Orange Avenue suffered a fire on Dec. 5 that required substantial demolition and the removal of some walls and floor components to locate and extinguish the flames, authorities said.

South Orange health and construction officials temporarily suspended operation at the restaurant until it could be brought up to code again.

The South Orange Village Center announced Wednesday that the local eatery is back open after being closed for more than a week.

Learn more about the restaurant here.

“For a small business, closing down for a week, especially during the holidays, is really painful, so please consider having breakfast, lunch or dinner there during the holiday season,” the SOVC Facebook page stated. “You'll have an excellent home cooked meal and it will help them out a lot.”

And if you’re looking for ordering suggestions, you can’t go wrong with the gyros, soups, pancakes or French toast, according to these Facebook fans.

Photo: Flickr Commons, Flavio

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com