Managers at the NYLO Providence/Warwick had endured a slow winter and were eagerly gearing up for the busier, warmer months when the Pawtuxet River washed those plans away last month.
The 163-room Warwick hotel, which opened less than two years ago – along with its riverfront restaurant – has been knocked out of business at least until July as it rebuilds after 2 feet of floodwater gushed through the ground floor, destroying not only furniture and fixtures but the hotel’s booking schedule, too. NYLO has canceled five weddings planned for the coming months and 30 group events. Managers were preparing to hire about 20 workers to handle the upswing. Instead they have laid off nearly the entire staff of 50.
“The financial toll is pretty overwhelming,” said General Manager Christine Nevers.
Rhode Island’s hospitality sector has not been exactly rosy as it plods its way through the economic downturn, but the historic floods last month have made a challenging business climate that much more arduous, at least for some.
NYLO was the only hotel shuttered by the widespread disaster, but 25 restaurants – from fast-food joints to high-end cafés from Cumberland to Westerly – were forced to close because of the deluge, according to the R.I. Department of Health.
As of last week, 20 food establishments remained closed, including seven eateries at the Warwick Mall food court.
Dale Venturini, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, was still attempting to get a handle on the financial impact, including job losses and repair and business-interruption costs.
“It’s going to be a while before we’re able to sort this out,” she said.
For at least one restaurant, the loss of business was just too much to overcome.
Up River Café, which hangs over a portion of the Pawcatuck River in Westerly, had been forced to remain closed while it waited for divers to assess damage to the piers supporting the restaurant.
Owner Daniel King said the swollen river never reached the dining room, so repairs were minimal, but the disaster still devastated his business, which had already been losing money in a sluggish economy.
King, who owns another successful restaurant in town, concluded last week that it wasn’t worth attempting to revive the eight-year-old Up River Café.
The situation was grim at the Uno Chicago Grill on Bald Hill Road, Warwick, where nearly 3 feet of floodwater destroyed kitchen equipment, walls and furniture.
Mike Pimental, the restaurant chain’s director of design and construction, placed the price tag for repairs at about $1 million and said remodeling would take three months.
The restaurant does not have flood insurance, Pimental said. It is, however, currently negotiating how much of the damage repair its insurance will cover.
In the meantime, he said, about 40 percent of the 60-member staff has been transferred to other locations. Another five have been hired by contractors to work on repairs.
The wreckage at the Back Track Bar and Grill in Westerly was equally as bad, but the owners don’t have the financial resources of a restaurant chain.
So after the 10 employees were laid off, most returned to help with the cleanup, according to manager Robin Young. “They want to go back to work as soon as they can,” she said.
Steve Marra, owner of Pinelli Marra Restaurant Group, said some smaller establishments might never recover. “For some of them, $10,000 can be the difference between opening and not opening,” he said.
Marra’s Twist Restaurant on Bald Hill Road in Warwick was temporarily shut down when the basement flooded to 8 feet and power to the building was cut.
Last week, the restaurant reopened after an ambitious rebuilding effort that began as soon as the floodwater receded.
The restaurant suffered about $30,000 worth of food and beverage losses, none of which was covered by spoilage insurance because it was caused by a flood. Although the dining room was untouched by floodwaters, he estimated damages at $100,000.
Because of food-safety concerns, the Department of Health has been tracking restaurants and other food sellers hit by the flood.
Health inspections are mandatory before an establishment is allowed to reopen, according to
Health department guidelines call for all food and packaging that touched floodwater to be discarded, as well as refrigerated foods.
Marra said workers armed with special cleaning solutions have been working in the basement around the clock at Twist.
At Uno Chicago Grill, mold experts drilled holes into the walk-in cooler to test whether there was moisture in the insulation, which would promote mold growth. Workers were also inspecting the restaurant ductwork for mold.
The NYLO hotel, located immediately upriver from the Pontiac Mills and within sight of Warwick Mall, has also suffered worse than most.
Hotel executives were forced to evacuate 60 guests to nearby hotels when the Pawtuxet River breached sandbags on the hotel restaurant’s riverfront patio on March 30. NYLO also found lodging for another 30 guests due to arrive later that day.
Nevers said reservations were canceled through June – including a wedding that had been scheduled for April 1 – and the hotel isn’t taking any new ones.
The tally of losses hasn’t been finalized yet, Nevers said. At the very least, she is sure the urban-loft-style hotel will need to replace its custom front desk and the curved bar in the restaurant, called The Loft.
Damages could easily reach “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Nevers said. And that’s not counting the costs of being out of action as the busy time of year arrives.
“The summer season is big for us, but we want to do [the cleanup] right,” Nevers said. •
