HOUSTON – After Hurricane Harvey, many restaurant owners were left picking up the pieces, having to shut their doors for weeks because of flooding, and no electricity or water. Houston Health Department inspectors are now seeing many businesses set to open their doors soon.
"We're redoing the whole back bar. This is all going to be brick," said Doug Wilson, director of operations with GR8 PLATE, the parent company of The Union Kitchen.
The Union Kitchen is one of 200 restaurants that had to close its doors because of Harvey for reasons ranging from no hot water to flood damage.
The kitchen was not flooded, but the owners decided to throw out all the food because it would have been two weeks old. Wilson said more than 60 employees had to stay home or be reassigned to work at other sister restaurants.
"Despite the damage, people still have to earn a living," said Wilson.
On top of repairs and employees, restaurants will have to make sure they comply with inspectors.
"We're making sure all the equipment is clean and sanitized," said inspector Abeid Fells.
"Floodwater is very dangerous. It contains a lot of water and various diseases. So we want to throw away anything that has been in contact with flood water," said Fells.
Risking exposure to E-coli, salmonella, shigella, and tetanus among other diseases and hazards. The Houston Health Department has done more than 1,800 disaster surveys assessing the damage of restaurants and what needs to be done to keep consumers safe.
"We will be checking temperatures in freezers and refrigerators," said inspector Rob Robinson.
Inspectors said any food items that were in temperatures over 41 degrees for more than four hours must be thrown out.
Luckily for The Union Kitchen, the kitchen went untouched by flood waters. They are however renovating the entire store front, a project they had planned to do months later. The restaurant front was flooded with nearly a foot of water. It hopes to re-open Tuesday.
At Izakaya Wa, a sushi restaurant down the road, managers said they hope to open by the end of the month.
Inspectors said all restaurants looking to re-open after the flood will be inspected inside and out.
"We'll be looking on the outside of the exterior. We'll be looking for holes, entry points for new exteriors around the ground and foundation side. We'll be looking for points of entry on the window sills," said Robinson.
Meanwhile, businesses like The Union Kitchen are excited to finally open their doors. As every day the restaurant is closed, the company eats the cost.
"In sales alone it's going to be a couple hundred thousand dollars," said Wilson. "We didn't have any water, we didn't lose any power. If we had sewer damage and all of that it would be a lot more expensive for repairs."
Ultimately, Wilson said they are excited to see the customers.
"We're just trying to get back open. Everyone is excited calling and asking when we're going to be open again," said Wilson.
