The disruption in water service caused a major disruption for area businesses in Lackawanna County that had to close down for the night after losing water Thursday due to a water main break in Scranton.
Late Thursday night, crews were able to reroute water to the Montage/Glenmaura area, and water service was restored.
Still it was a loss of business for many establishments.
Employees at Doc MacGrogan`s Oyster House delivered some bad news to customers after losing water service at the restaurant.
“I`m calling to let you know we have to cancel your reservation due to the water main break,” said the hostess as she left a message over the phone.
“We need to make sure that as quickly as we can get our back of the house and our kitchen up to standard and cleaned up before we lose all of the water then we need to take care of the guests that are here as well,” said Doc MacGrogan’s manager, Lisa Lapinski. “So we`re doing that to the best of our ability and then unfortunately we`ll have to close our doors for the evening.”
For those already seated and served at Doc MacGrogan`s, they decided to stay, including a couple from Wilkes-Barre, out celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
“We had our order in on time, before the water went out, so we`re going to be able to eat before they close,” said Nettie Sallett.
Tony Wallace came out with his aunt and sister to grab a drink and some fresh oysters.
“We came in with the very good intention of having a good meal, and we'll still stay here and have a good meal," said Wallace.
In South Scranton, Kelly’s Pub and Eatery never made it open for dinner, disappointing those looking to enjoy their popular buffalo wings.
“There was no water, there was just a sign, didn’t know anything about it, bummer?” said Debbie Wagner of Dunmore who came to meet friends.
“No I’m sorry we’re not, we’re affected by the water main,” said Kelly’s owner, Trisha Laboranti, as she fielded phone calls from people wanting to know if the restaurant was open.
The water outage could run into the busiest day of the year for Kelly’s, the Super Bowl.
Laboranti said she’s hoping to still be able to sell wings on Super Bowl Sunday since there’s no dining in; the orders are takeout only.
“We really probably could open because you just need water for bathrooms, you can do the dishes later. Really you just need your gas fryers,” said Laboanti.
Kelly’s owner said she does have business disruption insurance that will help cover losses if she has to be closed for longer than just a day.