ST. LOUIS - Esca is one of the three popular restaurants in the Central West End that were struck by the tornado on May 16.

Today, they were back open for business.

“(It) felt like a train coming toward you,” said Ben Poremba, chef & owner of Bengelina Hospitality Group. “When we came up, we were startled. This room we’re in was covered in debris and glass. The same for the patio. We had windows broken, and things flew right in.”

Bengelina Hospitality Group is reopening three of their restaurants Friday: Nixta, Esca and Florentin. The three sustained temporary closures due to the tornado that struck St. Louis’s Central West End on May 16.

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“Only one of our properties, one that was not open to the public yet,” says Porem

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