A notice on the door at Brothers Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The work required to reopen Brothers, damaged earlier this month by a water leak, will keep the Red Bank bar and pizzeria closed for at least another month, an owner tells redbankgreen.

“The good news is we were approved by our insurance company” on a damage claim, Ralph Ventre said Friday. “The bad news is it’s going to take four-to-five weeks to make the repairs.”

“There’s a lot of work that has to be done,” including replacing the floors and ceiling, he said. Ventre originally estimated the repairs would take about a week.

Brothers, at West Front Street and Morford Place, was flooded when a water line that runs through the attic froze and burst before dawn on January 8. The cascading water took down part of the restaurant’s ceiling and caused extensive damage.

Ventre said he’s concerned that the delay will cut into his Friday-night business during Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18.

“It’s heartbreaking, but what am I going to do?” he said. “It’s not the worst thing in the world,” he added, saying his challenges paled next to those of the victims of a massive fire in Edgewater this week.

“We’ll get through this,” he said. “The Brothers will be back.”