Power returns to Old Market

Power was restored in the Old Market early Wednesday, lights and humming air conditioners signaling that area businesses and restaurants could reopen after a day of closures.

Omaha Public Power District announced that electricity had been restored just before 6:30 a.m.

Street lights in the area flashed a continuous red for a while after power resumed, a sign that it might take more than a flick of a switch to return to normal.

Some restaurants said they were working to restock their kitchens Wednesday morning and probably wouldn't open until dinner. They suggested calling first if headed to an Old Market destination for lunch.

Many of the Old Market's best-known businesses and restaurants were forced to shut their doors Tuesday after an underground fire severely damaged the electrical circuits that power part of that district.

More than 100 customers, mostly businesses, lost power. Early Wednesday, electrical service had yet to be restored, nearly 24 hours after the power went out.

Not every Old Market business was affected, but the outage turned Omaha's No. 2 tourist attraction into something of a ghost town.

At midday it was easy to find a parking space. Office workers canceled or changed their lunch plans. Puzzled tourists wandered the largely empty streets.

Tourism officials said there was no way to immediately calculate how much money businesses lost because of the outage. Nor was there a damage estimate on the fire.

But James Mekiney, executive chef for both Vivace and M's Pub, said the outage cost the restaurants a combined $25,000 to $30,000 in lost customers and ruined food.

Several restaurants ordered refrigerated trucks to save their food.

Steven Summers, general manager at Rock Bottom Gold Medal Tap, said he saved most of his food by putting it on dry ice. He and employees also loaded about $20,000 worth of product into a refrigerated truck.

Summers ordered the truck after learning that power might not come back on until midnight.

“We've got a lot of money invested in the food we've got,” he said. “When you know the power is not coming on, it's just not worth taking the risk.”

A crowd of sweaty employees chugged beers outside M's Pub after they had frantically loaded food into a refrigerated truck that idled in an adjacent alleyway.

Some restaurants that didn't lose power benefited from the outage. Blue Sushi Sake Bar and Stokes Bar and Grill were among the Old Market businesses that opened.

John Ursick, executive chef and partner at Stokes, said business was double that of a normal Tuesday.

“It's been awesome,” he said.

Ursick said business picked up right after opening at 11 a.m. Extra kitchen and dining room staff were called in to work.

“What we're finding out by talking to our guests is their apartments and condos are without power, so they're going to hang out here tonight,” he said.

Hotels rented rooms to people whose apartments sweltered without air conditioning on one of the muggiest days of the year.

No large conventions were being held Tuesday in Omaha, but downtown hotels reported that they were nearly sold out.

Nicole LaFoe, front desk receptionist at the Hilton Garden Inn at 10th and Dodge Streets, said she had been directing guests to nearby restaurants.

“Usually we can say, ‘Go wherever you want,' ” LaFoe said. “But with the power out in the Old Market, it's been more difficult trying to get people somewhere to eat.”

She directed people to Farrell's, a sports bar and deli near Ninth and Dodge Streets; Passport at 11th and Jackson Streets; and Wheatfields, 12th and Harney Streets.

One couple had reservations for Vivace, but it remained closed as of dinner time. So LaFoe suggested that the guests try Vincenzo's, which offers similar fare.

The fire was reported about 1 a.m. near the intersection of 10th and Jackson Streets.

Omaha Public Power District officials said a failed cable splice sparked flames in an underground vault, causing a chain reaction that knocked out several electrical circuits inside.

Onlookers gawked as smoke and sparks poured from a manhole between bursts of firecracker-like explosions. The acrid smell of burned rubber and plastic wafted throughout the area.

Heat from the blaze was so intense that repair crews were forced to wait several hours for the vault to cool. At least one electrical circuit was severely damaged.

World-Herald staff writers Sarah Reinecke and Ross Boettcher contributed to this report.

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