“It’s pretty much like ghost town, no one wants to park and truck through mud and sludge to get to the restaurant,” said Yancy Theodore.
A water main break on Decatur Street left several restaurants and bars empty.
“It’s supposed to be a popular area and Tuesdays are usually a big night for us, but with water pressure being so low, I’m not even sure if it’s safe to be open right now,” said Theodore.
In a statement, the sewerage and water board says, “No customers are experiencing a water service disruption.”
But businesses in the French Quarter say otherwise.
Employees at One More Pie tell me they had little to no water pressure for several hours.
“I’m not even sure if it’s safe to have this kind of low water pressure because I know that is one of those things that could bring bacteria,” said Theodore.
Although the cause of the water main break is unclear, it comes just one week after a new construction project began to repair pipelines underground.
“We are losing money right now,” said Lily Soniat.
The owner of Zhang bistro says they also experienced low water pressure.
“We didn’t have customers for 3 hours, no customers, zero,” said Soniat.
As a large fence covers her storefront entrance, she’s worried the construction project could deter customers from her business.
“I’m so scared because I only received one letter saying it’ll take around 5 months to do this, I don’t know, it’s only one week and my sale is going crazy down,” Soniat.
The Sewerage and Water Board says the project is expected to be completed by late February 2026.
