‘We Love You:’ The Facebook post that kept Ocean 302 alive

A Melbourne Beach restaurant that was days away from closing its doors is still open after a Facebook post brought an outpouring of support from the community.Ocean 302 owner Charlie Zubi said the restaurant had been struggling through the slow season and was nearly out of options.“We were going to close right away,” Zubi said. “Right away because I didn’t have the money.”Zubi has owned Ocean 302 for almost 11 years. About a month ago, he believed the restaurant would have to shut down.“We were about seven days out from closing,” bar manager Veronica Afflerbach said.That’s when Afflerbach turned to Facebook, asking the community for help. The response came quickly.“I can’t even believe how many people reached out to us,” Afflerbach said. “They showed up in ways that we couldn’t even imagine.”The post has since received nearly 500 likes, almost 200 shares and many comments from people sharing memories of the restaurant and pledging support. Some called Ocean 302 one of their favorite pl