Bayside Jet Drive Owner Rebuilds Business 7-Months After Devastating Structure Fire

BERLIN, Md. — On November 12, flames tore through Bayside Jet Drive, a family-owned business along Worcester Highway. For owner Eric Fiori, the memories of that devastating night remain crystal clear.

“That was 25 years of my life up in flames and watching the, watching my business burn and all the employees and, you know, I have employees have been with me for 20 years, and it was hard on all of us,” Fiori said.

WMDT reported that 24 agencies from three counties responded that night, but the fire left what Fiori described as a total loss.

“What are we going to do? How are we going to move forward? And, you know, we kind of started right away on those. There’s actions and it was a very difficult time for myself, my family and our employees,” said Fiori.

Seven months later, Fiori said the cause of the fire remains unknown. As he rebuilds Bayside Jet Drive, he has also set his sights on the former drive-in theater along Route 50.

“My initial thought process with the movie theater is to kind of bring some of that historic nostalgia. I mean, it was a business for over 20 years in the movie theater. A lot of people that grew up here, their parents went to that drive in movie theater,” said Fiori.

He said restoring the historic site preserves a piece of Worcester County history for residents and visitors alike. It also creates new job opportunities in the area, which is one reason he’s selling his Sussex County location and focusing his efforts closer to home.

“My end goal is and bringing those resources back to Worcester County, where my heart is passionate, it is what the final decision was so we will be selling the property up in up in Delaware,” said Fiori.

Today, that same determination is driving a fresh start.