"I [felt like a] phoenix rising from the ashes," Robyn Fox reflected on the resilience within her as the reopening of Europe In The Summer (EITS) Café loomed for its Brunch 'n Beats Mother's Day brunch last Sunday.

It had been six months since Hurricane Melissa's ferocious winds and torrential rains ravaged the beloved restaurant in Newcastle, St Andrew.

The eatery had lost its roofing, power lines had fallen, and sludge from hillside runoff had left mud everywhere on EITS' terrace property, nestled over 4,200 feet above sea level in the folds of the Blue Mountains.