Monday marked the third day of what feels like a heat wave across Connecticut.
By the afternoon, all the snow was gone at the Guilford Mooring on the Water seafood restaurant.
“A beautiful snowstorm down here out the windows looks gorgeous, too,” waitress Janthina Nelson said. “But having a cocktail outside on the patio, I mean there’s nothing better than that.”
There is nothing better for business at the waterfront restaurant during the winter than this wave of unseasonably warm weather.
“Temperature worked to our advantage and that’s when we thrive on for this time of year,” General Manager Ralph D’Amato said.
Some customers even had to wait to be seated over the busy weekend, D’Amato said.
“It’s great to the have the bounce back,” he added.
Typically, the Stony Creek Brewery in Branford is closed on Monday, but it is open for the President’s Day holiday, allowing Dennis Murphy and his friends to enjoy a cold one outside on a warm winter day.
“We have the day off,” Murphy said. “They have excellent beer here, we love atmosphere.”
Over the weekend, bartender Jon Sackett said the place was packed.
“Everyone’s been waiting for this moment for the weather to turn around, we can come outside enjoy ourselves grab a pint,” Sackett said. “We had a lot of volume, a lot of turn around, lot of money come through which is good for us, good for my pockets.”
D’Amato said “without a doubt” he could live without another storm until next winter. His staff agrees.
“I’m ready for summer,” Nelson said, “I’m done shoveling.”
D’Amato said they plan to set up for outdoor dining in mid-March.
But the restaurant, along with other shoreline businesses, should still benefit from temperatures staying warmer than usual for the rest of the week.
