CAPE CORAL, Fla. — You might have experienced some caffeine withdrawals Tuesday morning after seeing notices of closure outside Starbucks on Del Prado. It was one of several businesses, like 10TwentyFive's Cape Coral location off Nicholas Parkway, that had to close for the day due to Cape Coral's 18-hour boil water advisory.
Thankfully, the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce told us that this was not the norm, and that most businesses operated with some small changes.
One of those businesses, House of Omelets on Pine Island Road, had to serve customers bottles of water and canned soda until that notice was lifted Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ll just have to look at it as another obstacle we’ll get over," said restaurant manager Michele Roman.
Roman says she got news of the notice late last night and had to plan quickly Tuesday morning before the restaurant opened - opting to adjust rather than close for the day.
“We were just like, let’s do it, let’s do what we need to do and see what it brings," says Roman.
Getting those bottles of water and canned soda proved to be a challenge for them, Roman says.
“We had to go to a couple of places to find soda and water, but we got through it.”
The Cape Chamber of Commerce used one of its members in a written statement as an example of the potential loss, saying in part:
"If they include fixed costs like rent, they would be out at least $150 to $200 per day - and with their staff only working four days a week, it would be a 25% deduction for them."
An unexpected event for businesses in Cape, both big and small.
“It’s just a home away from home for a lot of people, and that’s what makes it really special," says Roman.
