Sweet Sue’s in Phoenicia still exists. Despite three floods of the Esopus Creek — one on Oct. 1, 2010, the next on Dec. 1, 2010, and the most recent on Aug. 28 (from Hurricane Irene), the beloved famous pancake house, founded in 1984, is still on its feet. The restaurant is about 25 miles outside of Kingston and 15 miles from Woodstock. People drive for hours from all over the region to go there for breakfast: it’s that good. When I heard rumors that it would not reopen, I laughed. Sunday, I went for a visit and heard the story of water two feet deep in the restaurant, the four inches of mud left behind, the collapsed wall, the 18-day cleanup. Then I learned that the little hamlet, just a few feet from the Espous Creek, has been flooded two other times in the past year. The rest of the town was doing well, or so it seemed. Nearly all of the businesses were open and there were customers everywhere.
More photos below.