SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Now that the boil water order has been lifted, many businesses are able to reopen.
A boil water order issued as a result of Tuesday’s water main impacted the entire city. Many restaurants chose to close for a day rather than figure out how to operate without the use of running water. 22News went to downtown Springfield restaurants to find out what it took to get ready to welcome customers again.
“I am just so pleased that in our city, our businesses were out front in saying we will work with you, we understand the public health risks,” remarked Springfield Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris.
Del Ray Taqueria and Bar decided not to open as water is such an integral part of the dining experience. “Our ice, our water – our drinking water – our washing our dishes, everything we cook with has to run with water, so we wanted to make sure that if was not going to be good quality, we’re not going to be opening,” said Del Ray’s manager Mia Ramos.
She said several steps were taken to ensure a safe reopening – including disinfecting the ice machines.
“We pretty much have to, all of our food is fresh, so washing it would take a lot of time and effort and a lot of bottled water to clean and get everything ready so we decided to give the staff a break and we’d start doing something on Thursday morning if we were able to reopen,” reported Rebecca Rubin, the catering manager at Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill. Rubin said that staff came in early to wash everything – including glasses and silverware – in order to reopen safely.
These restaurants added that the revenue loss from closing for a day, and the costs incurred to reopen safely, were not significant. They said closing for a day was a small price to pay in order to keep the community safe.
Alanna Flood is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2022. Follow Alanna on X @alannafloodnews and view her bio to see more of her work.
