MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Local restaurants in Memphis have taken a big hit, having to temporarily close due to hazardous road conditions and water pressure issues.
Ronnie Gristanti’s restaurant and Smurfey’s Smokehouse are on opposite sides of Memphis, but dealt with some of the same struggles over the past week.
Ronnie Grisanti’s executive manager Randi Belisomo said they closed due to the weather on Monday, Jan. 15, and haven’t been able to open back up since.
"They expected to be off Monday, maybe Tuesday," Belisomo said. "But then Tuesday turns into Wednesday, and now we're all here. We missed six days of work.”
The ice started melting away, but the problems did not. Belisomo planned to open the East Memphis restaurant Friday, Jan. 19. But there was no water coming out of the faucets.
"I've worked and lived and led a restaurant through a boil water advisory before," Belisomo said. "I could figure that out. But no water? It's different.”
With days of closures, nearly all of the food in the kitchen went to waste.
"We haven't had garbage pick up in 10 days, and the garbage is overflowing," Belisomo said. "We can't even throw the food out. It's a cascading series of problems.”
Meanwhile in downtown Memphis, Smurfey’s Smokehouse BBQ & Breakfast held a soft opening on Sunday, Jan. 14, then had to shut down.
"We opened one week before the storm started, and we had to close," Smurfey’s owner Christina Westbrook said.
Westbrook said she and her husband ran a food truck for a decade, so they’re used to having to adjust when challenges arise.
"Instead of using your ice machine, you buy bottled water and sprites," Westbrook said. "Instead of using plates that you wash, you use paper plates that you can just throw away.”
Both Westbrook and Belisomo are hoping to be back to business as usual soon and hope Memphians will be there to support once the boil water advisory is lifted.
"It's just a challenging time to be a restaurateur," said Belisomo. "We're all going to need each other once this is over.”
"When you support small businesses, not only do we employ the youth, but we also inspire the youth,” said Westbrook.
MLGW said water pressure is increasing across its system, and the boil water advisory could be lifted by the end of the week.