Uncertain future for 360 Beach Club as owner says Sinlaku losses may near $100,000

More than a month after Super Typhoon Sinlaku tore through Saipan, 360 Beach Club owner Andrew Colburn still does not know if the popular beachfront restaurant will ever reopen at its current location.

Standing amid the wreckage of the establishment, Colburn said the storm destroyed the roof, wiped out his office, ruined business records, damaged equipment and appliances, spoiled thousands of dollars worth of food, and erased what should have been one of the restaurant’s busiest periods of the year. Combined with lost income and refunded deposits, Colburn estimates total losses could approach six figures.

“The roof was gone, my office was destroyed, all my files, all, everything,” Colburn said. “It was heartbreaking.”

Colburn said he first inspected the property during a brief lull in the storm and found much of the destruction had already occurred.

“A lot of the damage was already done,” he said. “It totally destroyed everything.”

The damage was particularly painful because 360 Beach Club was preparing for graduation season and a surge in customer traffic.

“We’re coming into busy season, graduation, so I had tons of food,” he said. “I gave them a lot of it, but nobody has any electricity, so all of that food that we had, thousands and thousands of dollars, was ruined.”

Before Sinlaku arrived, Colburn, his staff and the building owner attempted to secure the property with storm preparations. Yet after nearly three days of super typhoon-force winds, there was little they could do.

“There’s nothing we could have ever done to prevent what happened here,” Colburn said.

The businessman estimated direct losses tied to food, equipment and other business property at roughly $40,000 to $60,000, but said that figure does not account for canceled events, refunded deposits and lost revenue.

“Every restaurant right now is packed, so that’s not counting all the months coming into my busy season,” he said. “I had a lot of reservations, and I had a lot of deposits, so I had to not only not get the reservations, which were for 60 to 200 people, but I also had to give all their deposits back.”

Asked whether losses could reach $100,000, Colburn replied, “Probably close to it.”

The uncertainty surrounding the restaurant is compounded by the damage to the building itself. Colburn said he has not been told when repairs might begin and is currently focused on recovering from significant damage to his own home, where he estimates losses at $100,000 to $150,000 after the roof was blown off and rain poured inside for days.

For now, reopening plans remain up in the air.

“I’m just trying to survive right now,” Colburn said. “We’re alive, and that’s the main thing, and we can survive.”

Colburn arrived in the CNMI after Super Typhoon Yutu as part of a team helping with recovery efforts and later invested in the islands’ restaurant industry, operating both 360 Beach Club and the iconic 360 Revolving Restaurant. He opened 360 Beach Club in January 2025 after his lease at the revolving restaurant location ended earlier in the year.

Despite the devastation, Colburn said he remains committed to the community that embraced his businesses.

“We will open at some future date, and I’ll let you know where, where and when,” he said. “I really appreciate your business in the past.”