BROCKTON — A few downtown restaurant owners are feeling ill-prepared as Brockton abruptly announced there will be an emergency nine-hour power outage starting 10 p.m. Tuesday night to repair an electrical cable dug up by a contractor.
"I got an automated call this morning at 11 a.m., and the lack of notice is unacceptable. As a business, how are you supposed to prepare? It's a complete lack of communication, and I am honestly speechless," said Sandra Martin, owner of Elvera's Cafe at 132 Main St.
Business owners like Martin say they are scrambling to find the best way to preserve valuable products like milk and cream.
"We realize that tonight's power outage poses an inconvenience to residents and businesses. My office is working closely with National Grid to ensure this issue is rectified expeditiously with the least amount of impact. The investigation into the cause of the damage is ongoing." Mayor Robert F. Sullivan said in a written statement Tuesday evening.
Brockton Emergency Management first announced the planned power outage — which is scheduled to run from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday — in a Facebook post Monday evening.
According to city officials, they helped several businesses access generators on Monday night.
UPDATE: Elvera's gets generator Brockton restaurants sail through power outage thanks to city's help and dash of good luck
Restaurant owners say they weren't notified by city
The owners of Cabo Vegan, a restaurant located in the heart of downtown at 20 Main St., just found out through a friend and fellow member of the Downtown Brockton Association, Nelson Fernandes, the owner of the former JJ's Caffe.
"If it wasn't for Nelson, I don't think we would've known. Nelson works with DBA and, as a former restaurant owner, took it upon himself to notify local businesses. He knows restaurants will be deeply affected by this, so he did a walkthrough and tried to get ahold of everyone and give them an update," Cabo Vegan co-owner Tome Andrade said.
"He helped get the word out to restaurants, which was a good thing," Andrade said.
The owners of Cabo Vegan were unaware of the outage until a few hours before it was expected to begin, and they have yet to receive a phone call or a voice message, she said.
"We have over $2,000 worth of food in our freezers, and that would've been a significant hit to revenue," Andrade said.
Will restaurant owners be reimbursed?
The owner of another restaurant, Preto's Island Kitchen at 250 Main St., is wondering who is responsible and whether there will be some kind of reimbursem*nt to the restaurants, which may lose thousands of dollars in food and perishable items.
"The least they can do is cover the damages. I have six freezers, three refrigerators, and two beer coolers with over $10,000 worth of seafood and meat inside them," said Manuel Dasilva, the owner of Preto's Island Cuisine.
Dasilva learned on Monday night about the power outage through an automated call but thought it was a "joke" at first, but it wasn't until neighboring restaurants started discussing it that he realized it was, in fact, a reality.
According to a National Grid correspondence shared by Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan's office, the company will need to make repairs to an electrical cable on Frederick Douglas Avenue after a contractor dug into it last Friday, May 31.
"We will need to make repairs to that cable along with deenergizing the cable beside it for safety reasons while we complete our work," Joe Cardinal, National Grid's community relations representative for the region, wrote.
City setting up emergency lights downtown
The city is setting up emergency lights downtown and will have a police detail to ensure residents' safety.
"If people are saying the city isn't doing anything, they're wrong; it's a temporary outage, its unavoidable," Dave Wedge, spokesperson for the mayor's office, said.
Which areas of Brockton will be affected?
Parts of Main Street, Crescent Street, VFW Parkway, Warren Avenue, L Street, School Street, Legion Parkway, Montello Street, Commercial Street, Centre Street and High Street will be affected.
What to do before the power gets shut off
According to National Grid, residents and business owners should prepare by doing the following things before the power gets shut off tonight at 10 p.m.
Stock up on flashlights and spare batteries or other lighting sources
Charge mobile phones, tablets and other electronic devices. Charge medical equipment as needed and purchase back-up batteries for essential medical supplies
Stock up on food and drinks that don't require electricity to prepare
Switch off electrical appliancessuch as grills, hair straighteners and TVs and PCs
Boil hot water and store in a thermos for hot drinks or a heating source
Fill your car with gas
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton restaurants: Power outage will mean big losses as food spoils
