Hurricane Alley closing for nearly all of winter season. Here's why

The Hurricane Alley restaurant in Boynton Beach will close for much of the upcoming winter season, to the dismay of its owner, who says she was given short notice to leave the building. Her landlord says otherwise.

The seafood mainstay at 529 E. Ocean Ave. will close for up to seven months, starting Sept. 26, as the property owner, Fort Lauderdale-based Affiliated Development, builds 300 apartments and a new building for the restaurant.

Hurricane Alley owner Kim Kelly said an Affiliated representative told her Aug. 19 in the restaurant that she would soon receive a written notice to vacate the building by the end of September. She cried when he heard the news, she said. The company emailed her the notice Aug. 25.

While Hurricane Alley's lease allows Affiliated to give her a 30-day notice to leave the premises for construction, Kelly said, "I had assumed we would have three or four months to prepare."

Hurricane Alley plans fundraiser for employees on last day before closing

Affiliated CEO Jeff Burns said in 2025 that construction would start north of Hurricane Alley and continue south to her spot. No construction was visible on the north side of the project as of Aug. 28.

Burns says his company told Kelly multiple times before Aug. 19 that construction would start this fall. "This has always been the plan," he said. "This is exactly what she agreed to."

Construction in the area means crews must cut electricity and water to Hurricane Alley, so the restaurant must be shut down temporarily, Burns said.

Kelly said she worries for her employees — more than 45 of them — many of whom live paycheck to paycheck. The restaurant will hold a fundraiser for them and a closing party on its last day open, Sept. 25, she said.

"We need all of you to visit us for the next 28 days so our staff may prepare for their future as well," Kelly wrote on her restaurant's Facebook page.

Construction of Hurricane Alley's new location should take six to seven months, Burns said. The new building will be two stories and more than 4,700 square feet, compared to the current location of about 2,800 square feet. Kelly designed the building with Affiliated's permission.

Affiliated will keep the rental rate the same level as what it was in 2021, $94,500 a year, Burns said. The city's Community Redevelopment Agency owned the building at the time. The CRA sold it to Affiliated in June 2025.

"We've bent over backward to accommodate her in every way we know how," Burns said.

Email news tips and information to Chris Persaud at cpersaud@pbpost.com.