City Island was among the Bronx communities hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and no business was as badly damaged as Tony's Pier, a restaurant that went up in flames in a freak accident after more than a half-century in the community.

It was eventually rebuilt and reopened, but the effects of Sandy are still lingering five years later.

"We keep the place going. It's a struggle," says Tony Palumbo, the restaurant's president. "This building is not the Tony's Pier of what we grew up 50 years in."

Palumbo says the fire was sparked by a transformer that fell on the establishment during the storm.

"My initial reaction the next day was, OK, how do I get it up as fast as I could," he recalls.

So the rebuilding began, and Tony's Pier reopened exactly one year to the day that Sandy hit. But the restaurant is now 5 feet higher to comply with regulations -- an adjustment meant to protect the business from future flooding but one Palumbo says has undermined what the spot once was.

"Just because you're higher up, you don't have that same feel like when you're down; you're walking in and out of the restaurant," Palumbo says.

Customers have resumed going to the restaurant in numbers similar to before Sandy, and they're thrilled that Tony's made a comeback. Palumbo says it is that encouragement that keeps him motivated.

"I just keep telling myself every day, just look forward to the future, keep going, keep striving," he says. "But it's been hard."