Barge 295, Seabrook’s famous floating bar, was sunk in Clear Lake by Hurricane Beryl as it made landfall in southeast Texas.

The owners of a popular Seabrook bar say city officials are not making it easy for them to recover from Hurricane Beryl.

As Beryl was coming ashore on Monday, Barge 295 sank in Clear Lake, leaving 32 employees jobless and threatening the bar’s future.

“I mean, it was completely underwater on the bottom,” said co-owner Michael Robinson. “It makes me very sad because there’s so much blood, sweat and tears in it.”

Robinson, his brother and another partner purchased Barge 295 in 2017 and opened it five days before Hurricane Harvey hit.

“Shortly after we recovered from Harvey, COVID comes along, and shortly after that we’re dealing with this,” he explained. “So it’s been one thing after another, but we’ve tried to stay strong and resilient and keep going.”

Even if everything goes smoothly, it will still be months before the ship can be reopened.

They hoped to serve customers at “The Yard,” an outdoor space they opened during COVID-19.

There is a food truck, a stage and plenty of seating.

“Yesterday we were informed by the building department that we are not allowed to open under any circumstances,” said Robinson. “I had to inform our employees of this. I told everyone that they can of course look for other employment or apply for social benefits.”

Seabrook’s city manager said officials were waiting for more information before allowing customers into the bar.

She said safety issues, such as access to toilets, could be a problem with the main store being closed.

“Most cities and towns are doing what they can to help local businesses get back on their feet,” Robinson said. “We have a family here. Our employees and our customers. We have a pretty close bond with both groups and we want to get everything back up and running and open.”

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