Opening a new restaurant is challenging enough. Imagine doing so with a hurricane barreling down on your city.
That’s what happened with Oxbow 7, a new eatery going into the Le Meridien Houston Downtown hotel, which was scheduled to open just as Hurricane Harvey devastated the area, one of the nation’s biggest restaurant markets.
Instead of planning a launch party, Oxbow 7 operators Bryan and Jennifer Caswell (who own several other Houston restaurants) are donating their time to feed thousands of first responders. They’re also pivoting their opening party into a fundraiser to support local nonprofit organizations, as well as some of their food producers that lost everything to the storm. And they’re scrambling for staff after one of their top chefs quit without notice, citing the stress of the hurricane and ensuing flooding. “It’s something restaurant people have to deal with daily,” Jennifer Caswell says. “We roll with the punches.”
Oxbow 7 appears to not have suffered any storm damage, unlike the Caswell’s original concept, Reef. It will likely take at least several weeks to repair drywall and other mold damage at the latter restaurant, she says. However, their recently upgraded flood insurance will cover the service interruption for the staff and the business, she says.
“When something like this happens, I start worrying about how will we take care of our restaurant family,” Caswell says. “I don’t want to look that person in the face and say, ‘I’m sorry. Tough …’ I want to be able to give him a hug and say, ‘We’ll see you tomorrow. Put on your gloves. We’re ripping out carpet.’”
The full effects of Hurricane Harvey and impending Hurricane Irma on restaurants in the affected areas likely won’t be known for months. But here are some of the impacts on the dining industry so far.