The cost of Atlanta’s water woes continues to climb.
Slater Hospitality suffered weekend losses of more than $200,000 at its Ponce City Market rooftop food and drink concepts, which include the Roof, Skyline Park, 9 Mile Station, 12 Cocktail Bar, RFD Social and Rooftop Terrace, as first reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Restaurants across Atlanta were forced to close for several days following a string of water main breaks that began May 31. Restaurateurs have reported losing tens of thousands due to the weekend closures.
Slater Hospitality co-owner Mandy Slater told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they began losing water pressure on the 10-story rooftop Friday morning. By the afternoon, taps had run dry even though the rest of Ponce City Market was still functioning. It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that they could partially reopen, she said.
Slater estimated $230,000 in lost revenue. Weekends are when they do most of their business. Since they’re located on the rooftop, Slater said they’re “essentially closed” for about three months of the year, during which they retain their staff and incur a lot of expenses as a large venue. Their peak season really starts in May and June, and those earnings allow them to stay in operation for the rest of the year.
“It was a tough blow for us,” she said.
Slater said that many in the service industry have “been fighting our way back for several years now since COVID-19,” so while it may just be one weekend of lost business, it can have a far-reaching impact.
The rest of Ponce City Market, which includes a food hall, full-service restaurants and retail stores, closed Saturday afternoon until late Sunday morning. Tal Baum of Oliva Restaurant Group closed three of her restaurants, two of which are inside Ponce City Market . On Saturday, Baum said the entire complex was evacuated when the water shut off because all of the businesses share the same facilities, including bathrooms.
Baum declined to share the total amount of revenue she lost over the weekend but said it was “substantial.” Her insurance provider has already denied a claim she filed, but Baum said she is still working “to make sure that our provider understands the damage that was made here.”
Earlier this week, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced plans for a $5 million relief fund to help small businesses that faced losses during the outage. While it will be appreciated, “it’s not helping with the immediate need that we have,” Baum said, citing expenses that range from taxes to rent to salaries.
Slater said she’s hopeful about the relief fund, “but $5 million is really not a lot of money, considering all of the businesses that could have potentially been affected in that area, so I think that’s going to go relatively quickly.”
Part of those losses include wages and tips service workers would have made on a busy Saturday night. LaRayia Gaston, owner of LaRayia’s Bodega in Ponce City Market, closed her eatery, but continued to pay her five employees for the hours they would have worked, she said.
Gaston reopened her vegan stall on Sunday, but the next few days were still much slower than normal because Atlanta residents didn’t know what was happening, she said.
“I can only hope the city will support us and help us and give us some money for what we’ve lost, but I still can’t wait for that,” she said. “People’s bills are still coming no matter what.”
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