When power, heat and electricity were turned off at the building Crystal’s Kitchen occupies, Crystal Tan says she had to throw away an estimated $17,000 worth of food
WEST BRIDGEWATER– Crystal Tan walked into the open freezer at her restaurant –it was dark and empty.
“We will have to remake everything,” Tan said. “All of our dishes, chop all of the food, even remake our dipping sauces.”
When power, heat and electricity were turned off at the building Crystal’s Kitchen occupies, Tan had to throw away an estimated $17,000 worth of food, she said.
Due to frozen pipes and leaks, fifteen days later, Crystal’s Kitchen’s doors remains locked, the lights are still off and employees are unsure of when the restaurant will reopen.
“I never expected to be closed this long,” Tan said.
Crystal’s Kitchen, AT&T, Zorba’s Pizza and Subs, West Nail Salon and Spa and Macy’s Liquor have all been temporary closed since Jan. 2, when sprinklers burst in the Center Shopping Plaza building in West Bridgewater.
The leak, which began in the AT&T store, spread into the electrical room, damaging all of the electrical panels.
As a result, the utilities had to be shut off.
“Trust me, no one wants the plaza fixed more than us,” Michael White, the West Bridgewater building commissioner, told The Enterprise on Wednesday.
White himself is a big fan of the restaurant. In fact, the day the pipes burst White had been heading to Crystal’s Kitchen for dinner when he got the call about the leak.
“Trust me I tried to delay closing the building so I could have one more meal,” White joked.
Over the past couple of weeks, crews have tested for more leaks and began to repair the pipes.
Now they are fixing the electrical panels, White said.
Town officials are estimating the building will reopen in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, Tan said she is dealing with insurance for all the food she lost and any damage to the restaurant from the water.
Tan said she has talked to other owners of stores in the building as well, including Zorba’s Pizza and Subs and Macy’s Liquor.
“They are all having problems with insurance too,” Tan said. “But everyone is taking it one step at a time.”
Tan said although her restaurant hasn’t been making money, she said there is one positive thing about the closure... some well-deserved time off for her employees.
“My employees work so hard,” Crystal said. “This gives them some time that they don’t usually have.”
Tan said many of her employees took vacations to Montreal, New York City and even New Mexico.
Tan herself was relieved for a break, as she just had surgery before news of the leak.
But now, they are all ready to get back to work.
“We just thought it would be a couple days,” Sam Chartrucksa, one of the employees at Crystal’s Kitchen, said. “Not weeks. We keep hoping we will open soon.”
Tan had hoped by now the building would at least have running water so they could clean dishes, but that has not been the case.
In the 24 hours before reopening, Tan said, she and her staff will have a lot to prepare.
“It will be like opening a new restaurant,” Chartrucksa said.
And although the staff misses business and cooking, there is one thing they miss the most.
“I miss the customers,” Chartrucksa said.
“We want to thank our customers for all of the moral support,” Tan said. “Don’t worry about us. We hope to open soon.”