‘We’re back’: Pompeii’s pizzeria reopens in downtown Port Huron after May fire

Pompeii’s Pizzeria & Italian Eatery in downtown Port Huron has reopened after being closed for five months due to a fire.

Co-owners and brothers Andrew and Alan Ellery said reopening the restaurant Thursday was like their first day of school again. Alan Ellery even packed his work bag the night before.

“We’re back,” he said.

Pompeii’s at 1120 Military St. is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

The restaurant closed May 8 after sustaining damage from a kitchen fire. It was caused by a young employee who accidentally put a cutting board on a burner, the brothers said.

The fire caused extensive damage and even claimed the Pompeii’s recipe book with recipes passed down through generations. Luckily Alan Ellery had that backed up on his computer.

“That was a sigh of relief, I guess,” he said.

What was originally supposed to be a short closure stretched into months. Andrew Ellery said it took longer because of issues with a contractor and shipping delays and his brother said they have been waiting for the kitchen's new hood vent the past two months.

But after dealing with all the changes in the restaurant industry because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brothers knew they could make it through anything.

“COVID prepared us for this,” Andrew Ellery said.

On the front-end, customers might notice the fresh paint and new floors, but in the back the kitchen is almost entirely new, with the brothers spending just over $200,000 on renovations.

“It’s like a gourmet kitchen back there now,” Andrew Ellery said.

But when it comes to the pizza, homemade lasagna and chicken parmesan, nothing has changed.

“When you come in here, it’s warm,” Andrew Ellery said. “It’s home.”

People can contact Pompeii’s at (810) 966-3400 and pompeiis_porthuron@yahoo.com.

Contact Bryce Airgood at (810) 989-6202 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.