Water main break spoils Valentine's Day for flower shop, restaurant

Yahoo

14-02-2025

The Brief
A water main break in south Minneapolis caused businesses to temporarily close.
A florist shop and restaurant won't be able to serve customers on Valentine's Day.
It happened at 50th and Penn Avenue; the cause of the water main break is unknown.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A flower shop won't be selling flowers on Valentine's Day, because they are flooded. This comes after a water main break in south Minneapolis sent floods of water into a building and onto the street.
Timeline
Around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday is when it all started. It took hours to get the water to shut off. Many business owners arrived at their shops at 5 a.m. and there was nothing but constant flooding.
During the 9 o'clock hour, city officials said the water main had been repaired.
Local perspective
A florist is worried about getting flowers to her customers for Valentine's Day, while a café owner has to figure out what to do about his happy space.
Water poured out into the street at 50th and Penn Avenue. The entire cafe shop was covered in water. Right outside of it, a big hole from the water main break.
"There's a basement underneath here full of books, they're all underwater. Tons of mud and happiness in our space," said Jasper Rajendren, owner of Sparrow Café.
Rajendren owns Sparrow Café with his wife. Currently, there are condemned signs outside his shop along with other businesses in the same building. He has no idea when he can reopen.
"Looks like the floor is pretty much gone," said Rajendren.
Three people were displaced, and a few buildings down flowers may not be delivered in time for Valentine's Day.
What they're saying
"Everything was floating downstairs. When I arrived," said Naomi Strom, owner of Lake Harriet Florist.
Strom tells FOX 9 that they keep many of their products and orders in the basement. She tells us the flood was three to four feet high. Some orders were saved, while others weren't.
"The other arrangements that we're not able to fulfill, we're going to be sending to other florists to fulfill," said Strom.
As for last-minute Valentine's Day shoppers, you're out of luck.
"We probably will not be able to fulfill any orders for walk-ins because we have limited, I mean, we were underwater, so there's very, very limited ability we have to divine," said Strom.
Storm adds they put out 150 to 200 arrangements a day right before Valentine's Day. And as you can imagine, Valentine's Day is the mini Super Bowl for them. Also, Terzo's in that area, won't be open on Friday because of the flooding.