Dozens of Richmond restaurants closed Tuesday, adjusted hours and menus or switched to takeout-only due to the city’s latest boil water advisory.
Why it matters: Many of the small businesses still haven’t financially recovered from the January water crisis, and it’s unclear how long this latest event could last.
The big picture: Restaurants can technically stay open for business during boil water advisories as long as they follow detailed guidelines from the state health department, like providing bottled water to employees for handwashing.
- But many — including Minglewood Bake Shop, Can Can, Adarra, The Smoky Mug, 3 Monkeys, Cobra Cabana, Lucky AF, L’Opossum, Helen’s, Slay Burger and Cafe Rustika — opted to close down.
- Some, like Lillie Pearl, Zorch Pizza and Rostov’s, opened with modified menus, nixing cocktails (ice) or coffee (clean water) to salvage what they could from the latest crisis.
- Others, like The Jasper, Bamboo Cafe and Hot for Pizza, closed, but had a little fun with their closing posts on social media — at the city’s expense.
Zoom in: But behind the scenes, a clear frustration from restaurant owners having to navigate yet another city water crisis boiled over and into Mayor Avula’s virtual media briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
- More than 300 people joined, including some people representing local restaurants, who flooded the online chat.
- Their questions — like a specific end time for the advisory, if the city could adjust their language so businesses could file insurance claims, and how restaurants could operate safely without clean water — weren’t answered.
But their questions underscored how this latest water issue, while minor compared to January’s, is still dealing a major blow to whole swaths of the city.
What’s ahead: Before officials can lift the advisory, the water has to be back at full pressure, then pass two tests.
- Because of how long it takes to conduct the tests, the city wouldn’t be able to end the advisory until at least 40 hours after the first passed test, if everything aligns perfectly.
Go deeper: Richmond issues boil water advisory after plant filters clog
