[caption id="attachment_71282" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Barry O'Donovan. "]
Barry O'Donovan's version of a small business continues to chalk up big news.
O'Donovan, the New Jersey-based bar and restaurant owner who suffered major flood losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene will receive the U.S. Small Business Administration's Phoenix Award for his efforts to rebuild his business while helping his community recover.
The award will be presented on May 21, during SBA's National Small Business Week celebration in Washington, D.C.
Irene devastated his adopted home town of Cranford and his Kilkenny House pub and restaurant on August 28 of last year. The storm left 12 feet of water in the basement which housed the restaurant's office, electrical system, and food preparation and refrigeration area. The flooring in the restaurant was destroyed, and the losses totaled about $300,000.
According to the SBA release, O'Donovan had established a reputation as one of Cranford's most eager boosters, often donating a percentage of an evening's proceeds to the local baseball and soccer teams, or to a family in desperate need.
"In order to support the recovery of local vendors and suppliers after Hurricane Irene, O'Donovan set a goal to be open for business by October 15. With Irish hearts and Cranford spirit, contractors, volunteers and others worked long hours and the goal was met.
"While the business was closed, he helped find temporary jobs for his staff. Meanwhile, O'Donovan applied for an SBA disaster loan and was approved. The funds provided much needed relief and covered his working capital needs and repair costs. Only six weeks after the flood - a week before the mid-October deadline - Barry and his staff of 22 reopened Kilkenny House.
For his display of resiliency and dedication to the recovery of Cranford after Hurricane Irene, O'Donovan will receive the 2012 Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery."
Said SBA administrator, Karen G. Mills: "The Phoenix Award is an acknowledgment of a business owner's heroic efforts and a recognition of the contributions they make to the economic recovery of their communities. Barry O'Donovan displayed tremendous courage and resourcefulness in the aftermath of the flood, and he exemplifies the spirit one must have to rebound after a disaster like this."
O'Donovan's efforts to revive his business fortunes after Irene were reported in a recent Terry Golway column in the Echo and O'Donovan was a recipient of an Irish Echo Small Business 50 award shortly after the column was published.
