HELENA – Real Food Market and Deli has running water again after dealing with a frozen water main since Monday.
The city told MTN News it wasn’t a service line issue that caused the problem, but a small chunk of the main line under Bedford Street had frozen.
Crews were able to fix the issue Friday afternoon.
The store itself was open all week. But since the deli couldn’t run without water, kitchen staff now have lots of catch up to do, according to marketing director Marita Martiniak. Workers now have dozens of dishes to wash, and food to prep as they get the deli back up and running.
Management said they lost thousands of dollars each day. About 30 workers couldn’t report to work to do their regular jobs.
Throughout the week, neighboring businesses stepped in to help. Capital Sports, U-Haul and Great Harvest all let workers use water or go to the bathroom in their locations.
“We always learn lessons, we always get smarter with each challenge like this,” said Martiniak. “We figure out where our weak spots are and how to do it better next time. So yes, I think we will be coming up with some new ideas to approach these kind of catastrophes.”
The salad bar, soup and pizzas will be ready by Saturday afternoon. The hot bar should be up and running Monday.
Martiniak said they are grateful for the businesses who helped them, city workers who fixed the issue and customers who were understanding.
-Reported by Evelyn Schultz/MTN News
