Rainfall causes damage to Connellsville restaurant
Ed Riedmann
A Connellsville restaurant flooded Friday after sustaining significant damage to its roof.
Tia’s Kitchen, located at 103 Memorial Blvd., is temporarily closed during repairs. Owner Kaylynn Ajquejay said a significant amount of water from recent heavy rains had accumulated on the roof.
“So my cooks got there first on Friday morning. They walked in and called my husband and said, ‘You need to get here right now. There is flooding in the restaurant,'” Ajquejay said. “I’m thinking it’s a little leak, or a pipe broke. The whole ceiling for the restaurant is pouring water down.”
Ajquejay added the New Haven Fire Department was called to the business. She said they still aren’t sure of the full extent of the damage.
“They have to get it dried up enough to where they can check everything … I know we have a couple pieces of equipment that don’t seem to be working properly. It is going to be a struggle for us to get everything fixed and back open.
According to the Pittsburgh branch of the National Weather Service, between 2 and 2.5 inches of rain fell in the region over the weekend. That area includes Western Pennsylvania, the West Virginia panhandle and eastern Ohio.
On Saturday, the state Department of Transportation District 12 issued a notice that a few state roads had closed due to flooding. That included Route 3003 from Township 320 Road to Route 166 in Nicholson Township in Fayette County and Route 2020 in Washington County, from Ridge Church Road in Amwell Township to Little Creek Road in West Bethlehem Township.
The roads had reopened by Sunday morning.
However, the region appeared to be spared from widespread flooding. Dispatchers for 911 centers in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties said they had not received any reports of flooding.
According to Ajquejay, the damage to Tia’s Kitchen will keep the restaurant closed for at least two weeks, potentially longer. The restaurant has been operating for less than a year and a half.
“I have two little boys and my husband and I both work at the restaurant all day, every day. This is our main source of income. Right now, I’m just worried about my family,” Ajquejay said. “We’ve put our heart and soul into this restaurant, and now we’re going to have to redo everything.”