diff --git a/priam/src/main/java/com/netflix/priam/restore/AbstractRestore.java b/priam/src/main/java/com/netflix/priam/restore/AbstractRestore.java
index 49592bac7..1074206e5 100644
--- a/priam/src/main/java/com/netflix/priam/restore/AbstractRestore.java
+++ b/priam/src/main/java/com/netflix/priam/restore/AbstractRestore.java
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 import javax.inject.Named;
 import javax.inject.Provider;
 import org.apache.commons.collections4.CollectionUtils;
+import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
@@ -217,6 +218,13 @@ public void restore(DateUtil.DateRange dateRange) throws Exception {
                 instanceIdentity.getInstance().setToken(restoreToken.toString());
             }
 
+            // Stop cassandra if its running
+            stopCassProcess();
+
+            // Cleanup local data
+            File dataDir = new File(config.getDataFileLocation());
+            if (dataDir.exists() && dataDir.isDirectory()) FileUtils.cleanDirectory(dataDir);
+
             // Find latest valid meta file.
             Optional<AbstractBackupPath> latestValidMetaFile =
                     BackupRestoreUtil.getLatestValidMetaPath(metaProxy, dateRange);
@@ -247,6 +255,7 @@ public void restore(DateUtil.DateRange dateRange) throws Exception {
             List<Future<Path>> futureList = new ArrayList<>();
             futureList.addAll(download(allFiles.iterator(), false));
 
+            // Downloading CommitLogs
             // Note for Backup V2.0 we do not backup commit logs, as saving them is cost-expensive.
             if (config.isBackingUpCommitLogs()) {
                 logger.info(
@@ -267,9 +276,20 @@ public void restore(DateUtil.DateRange dateRange) throws Exception {
             // Wait for all the futures to finish.
             waitForCompletion(futureList);
 
+            // Given that files are restored now, kick off post restore hook
+            logger.info("Starting post restore hook");
+            postRestoreHook.execute();
+            logger.info("Completed executing post restore hook");
+
             // Declare restore as finished.
             instanceState.getRestoreStatus().setExecutionEndTime(LocalDateTime.now());
             instanceState.setRestoreStatus(Status.FINISHED);
+
+            // Start cassandra if restore is successful.
+            if (!config.doesCassandraStartManually()) cassProcess.start(true);
+            else
+                logger.info(
+                        "config.doesCassandraStartManually() is set to True, hence Cassandra needs to be started manually ...");
         } catch (Exception e) {
             instanceState.setRestoreStatus(Status.FAILED);
             instanceState.getRestoreStatus().setExecutionEndTime(LocalDateTime.now());