Eleventh Street Pub is set to reopen this week in Midtown, nearly two months after it closed due to a water main break.
The restaurant, located at 1041 W. Peachtree St. NW, will reopen at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 25. It closed May 31, after a water main break caused water and asphalt to spray into the air, damaging an awning and breaking a window. Water poured into the building for more than 15 hours, causing extensive damage to the interior.
Owner Michael Taylor said he’s spent the past few weeks working with contractors on water mitigation and renovating the space, including ripping out walls; replacing bathroom vanities, tiles, the bar and tables and chairs; painting; and repairing electrical and plumbing systems. He’s also working with his insurance company to get reimbursed for damages.
“Everything is just like it was before, but clean and fresh,” he said. “It took a lot longer than we thought it would, and we’re still working through it, but we’re going to reopen Thursday no matter what.”
Credit: Courtesy of Michael Taylor
Credit: Courtesy of Michael Taylor
In addition to insurance, Taylor is also looking into the possibility of tapping into the $7.5 million relief fund for small businesses impacted by the water main break. Fund allocation is being handled by the city’s economic development arm, Invest Atlanta.
But no matter how much money comes in from other sources, “it won’t come close to covering what we lost in business, food and damages,” said Taylor, who declined to state how much his estimated losses were. “It’s been a monstrous loss. We had a little bit of a buffer built up before this, but that was gone in no time. My primary concern is my staff, though — they need to get back to making some money.”
Eleventh Street Pub is among the last restaurants to reopen after the water main break shut down a wide swath of restaurants across the city in late May. Most businesses lost one to four days of service, yet many are still working to recover from the financial impacts of closing. The downtown location of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, which had a burst pipe right after the water main break, won’t reopen.
Taylor said that though he’s tried to stay positive, he’s “gone through every stage of different feelings about what happened.”
“The community has been so supportive, and everyone is really excited that we’re reopening, he said. “But I wouldn’t wish this ordeal on anybody.”
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