ASHEVILLE - A local ice cream parlor remains closed as clean-up and reconstruction continue following a major water leak.
The Hop Handcrafted Ice Cream’s store at 640 Merrimon Ave. is expected to be closed for nearly two weeks after the store took in water from what’s reported as a backed-up drain from a neighboring eatery.
Co-owner Greg Garrison said, that on the morning of Aug. 12, staff members from The Hop’s sister dessert shop, Pop Bubble Tea, which occupies a portion of the storefront’s space, entered the building to find parts of the ceiling caved in and water pooling on the floor.
Pop Bubble Tea was unaffected and remains open.
The Hop, unit 103, and Romeo’s Vegan Burgers, unit 203, are tenants of Merrimon Square, owned by Ri Jian Chen of Chen Cube Properties LLC and managed by Tessier Management Company.
Garrison said Tessier employees immediately assisted by offering support like providing dehumidifiers to dry the water, assisting with cleanup and calling a restoration company to rebuild both stores.
“There was a clogged drain upstairs at Romeo’s and their ice machine was draining into it,” Garrison said. “So once it backed up. ... water eventually overflowed the sink and leaked onto their floor.”
He said the water seeped into the floor and through The Hop’s ceiling tiles, drywall and insulation.
Romeo’s owners were not available for comment by the time of the publication. However, Garrison said he’s worked with the restaurant’s team on addressing the issue and recovery.
Garrison said there was nearly 2 inches of standing water on Romeo’s floor and 1.5 inches in some areas at The Hop.
He said The Hop and Romeo’s were the only businesses affected and that the vegan eatery could reopen later the same day, but the back section of the restaurant is closed, including the public restrooms, while repairs are made.
“Romeo’s came down with a shop vacuum and was pulling stuff out to help us, which was amazing and super sweet of them,” Garrison said. “We’re grateful that after they got their upstairs taken care of, they came down to take care of us.”
Garrison said equipment wasn’t directly impacted but the business lost an estimated couple of thousand dollars’ worth of inventory, including ice cream that had to be thrown away.
He estimates the biggest financial loss will be the thousands of dollars of sales when the business is closed over the tentative two-week period ― a high peak time for the company before summer travel ends and the school year begins.
Reconstruction costs are unknown, and the business owners are assessing damages for an insurance claim.
Garrison encourages customers to patronize Pop Bubble Tea and The Hop’s other store locations at 721 Haywood Road in West Asheville, 56 Patton Ave. in S&W Market downtown and 114 Cherry St. in Black Mountain. The Hop Creamery operates at 167 Haywood Road.
“People have been super supportive beyond what we would have ever expected or imagined,” he said.
Garrison said the Merrimon Avenue store has about eight employees, including four full-time workers. Garrison said he and his wife have committed to paying the workers for their originally scheduled shifts. Some have picked up shifts at other locations.
“That’s part of the reason we’re encouraging others to go to our other locations, to offset some of that cost,” Garrison said. “We can’t leave them hanging. That was the first thing we had to figure out before we did anything.”
He said The Hop is preparing for a major seasonal flavor launch of Southern Comfort ― a peach bourbon ice cream ― on Aug. 23.
A reopening party is being considered at the North Asheville location.
“We’re grateful for the support of this community and we feel the love,” Garrison said. “When we get back open, we’ll share it with everyone the best that we can.”
For more, visit hopicecreamnc.com and romeosveganburgers.com .
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times .
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville ice cream shop temporarily closes due to major leak, reopening date unknown
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