Michelin-starred Belfast restaurant Deanes has temporarily closed after freezing temperatures caused a pipe to burst, flooding the premises and damaging its structure.
After temperatures reached –5°C in the Northern Ireland city on Saturday night, a burst pipe saturated the restaurant’s main dining area with water, causing part of the ceiling to collapse, and damaging fixtures and furnishings.
Michael Deane’s eponymous restaurant is expected to be closed for up to four weeks, costing the business around £120k in lost bookings.
Sharon Clarke, finance operations manager for Deanes, said that while all bookings were being redirected to the group’s other restaurants, Deanes at Queens, Simply Deanes and Deanes Deli, the incident was a ‘disaster’ for the business.
“Its not really something you want in January – it’s a bad enough month,” she said. “There’s water damage right through the air conditioning and heating units as well as in the electrical system. We’ve got the builders in now who are in the process of taking down the ceiling, which we hope doesn’t reveal a multitude of problems. There was two inches of water on the floor, which we’re hoping will dry out and not warp the gorgeous oak floor, and and we’re waiting to see what the damage is to our leather banquettes.
“Its one of those things I wish hadn’t happened. We had everything turned off and heaters in to keep the room warm but we’re in a very old building and just not used to these temperatures.”
Freezing temperatures cause temporary closure
Deanes has attempted to redistribute the restaurant’s 40 staff to its other sites while repairs are being made, but with January trade notoriously slow, most may be out of work until Deanes reopens.
The heavy snow and freezing temperatures has affected many hospitality businesses across the UK over the past fortnight, with diners cancelling tables and staff unable to travel to work forcing businesses to temporarily close.