RICHMOND, Va. — This time two months ago, the city of Richmond experienced a water crisis.
While life is back to normal for many, some businesses are still dealing with the impacts.
Some Richmond restaurant owners are still trying to recoup money they lost from being forced to close during the city's multi-day water system failure.
John Taxin, who owns Bookbinder's Seafood & Steakhouse in Shockoe Bottom, said the unexpected closures cost his business $100,000 due to spoiled product and lack of sales.
"It’s been devastating to our business," Taxin said. "There's just no way whatsoever we can operate without boiling water."
Taxin said he has not been able to file a successful insurance claim to help recoup some of the money he's lost.
A copy of Bookbinder's insurance claims said it was denied because the damages happened from a situation that occurred off-site.
It cites the city, which claimed the water failure occurred because of a power outage at the water treatment plant.
"When we did what was right, I was under the understanding that I had business interruption insurance," he said. "I don’t know if the city didn't take responsibility for it, if we would have been covered."
Watch: Water crisis forces Richmond restaurants to shut down, await resolution (Jan. 2025)
Samuel Veney, who owns Philly Vegan in South Richmond, is experiencing something similar.
"It's been frustrating knowing that it's something that we did not cause, but we're paying for," he said.
Veney said the Richmond water crisis cost his business around $20,000.
"When it's unexpected, it's tough, you know, and not everybody's insurance covers that. Ours didn't cover that when it came to this situation," he said. "It puts it all on us for something that we did not do."
The city is working to expand financial help.
Richmond’s Economic Development Authority added an additional $250,000 to double the grant funding for businesses impacted by the water crisis.
The new grant will open next Friday.
Businesses can apply for $5,000 grants through the Metropolitan Business League.
While these businesses appreciate the effort, they believe the impacts from the city's failure are far greater.
"It’s a gesture of goodwill, and when you look at what's going on and how many businesses are impacted, and how much the losses are, it's kind of a drop in the bucket," Veney said.
"It’s wonderful that they are giving cash to businesses," Taxin said. "I think if they could help resource some kind of possible class action against the insurance companies, so we can get refunded."
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