Restaurant owners say a second power shutoff this week will only compound an already tough week and lead to lost business and spoiled food.
BERTHOUD, Colo. — Restaurant owners across Colorado’s Front Range are bracing for the possibility of another public safety power shutoff (PSPS), a move they say could equate to more lost business and thousands of dollars in spoiled food.
In the Town of Berthoud, Veronica Turner and her husband own Turner’s Pit Barbeque. On Wednesday, they lost power as part of Xcel Energy’s initial round of shutoffs, but they say a second one could be especially harmful to their small business.
“I can’t stand to lose anything, I can’t stand to lose clients or customers,” Turner said. “We’re a year into our business, we’re so new. We just celebrated our one-year anniversary. Every dime counts.”
The Turners rely heavily on several refrigeration units in their kitchen to ensure meat, produce and other food remain safe for consumption. Their power was restored by midnight, but they don’t expect that to last.
In a news release issued Thursday evening, Xcel Energy said it will implement another PSPS at 5 a.m. It is expected to affect around 69,000 customers in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld Counties.
“The big problem we have is our walk-in. This cannot run off a generator,” Turner said. “We got an order today because I thought we would be okay, and everything in here is going to have to come out tomorrow — and I have nowhere to put it.”
During the outage on Wednesday, they were able to stay afloat thanks to two generators. They also slept in their restaurant to keep a close eye on both units, placing a mattress on the floor of the dining area.
“Not only just losing business, but we are now losing food, and we are losing thousands of dollars,” Turner said. “Ribs and brisket and pork, that we have no idea where to put. I can’t stand to lose anything, and my employees can’t stand to lose days off of work.”
As of Thursday night, Excel said more than 90 percent of customers impacted by the first outage had seen their services restored. They say full restoration could take up to several days to achieve. Crews will have to inspect power lines and repair damage before they can be safely re-energized.
Dave Query, chef and owner of Big Red F Restaurant Group, is also concerned about the impact of another power shutoff. His business has 13 locations, including Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, Centro Mexican Kitchen, and The Post.
“The communication’s been really rough. I get it must be a daunting job, what Xcel is trying to do right now, but they’ve got to communicate better with us,” Query said. “It’s not an inconvenience, it’s an upheaval. And at the end, we want to make sure that we don’t have another Marshall Fire, so it’s not that we don’t understand the situation.”
The power shutoffs are intended to reduce the risk of wildfires. Strong winds, low relative humidity and dry ground conditions were all present on Wednesday, and officials anticipate Friday will either mirror that or be potentially worse.
“I grew up in Boulder, I’ve owned restaurants in Boulder for 35 years. When did we start turning the power off when the wind blows?” Query said. “We weren’t supposed to close [on Wednesday] but we did get shut down at three o’clock and it’s a hustle. It’s Christmas season, we’re calling off staff, we’re cancelling Christmas parties.”
