A trio of restaurants along the 1800 block of Peachtree Road in Buckhead remain closed today after a large sinkhole opened up Monday afternoon taking out the sidewalk, the sign for one of the businesses, and part of the road.
What began as a deep but much smaller hole in front of Sufi’s Kitchen on Friday, turned into a large sinkhole that swallowed the Persian restaurant’s sign. It also threatened neighboring restaurants R. Thomas Deluxe Grille and Bell Street Burritos as well as Peachtree Road.
Crews worked through the night to repair the damaged sidewalk, roadway, and six-inch water main in hopes of allowing the restaurants to reopen for lunch on Tuesday. But a part is still needed to finish repairs on the water main and won’t arrive until Tuesday afternoon, according to details provided by the city to Waring Murray, CFO of R. Thomas Deluxe Grille.
Three lanes of Peachtree Road remain closed in the area and drivers are being urged to find alternative routes. Residents and businesses continue to have access within the work zone.
“We’ve canceled deliveries for today. We’ve done everything we can do right now,” says Murray, who was at the restaurant Tuesday morning. “It is what it is.” As for R. Thomas’s beloved birds, he says they seem unfazed by the commotion taking place beyond their cages.
Over the weekend, R. Thomas chef John Vo told WSB-TV that the hole went right up to Sufi’s patio. He was afraid it would widen and cave in if not addressed soon by the city. Area restaurants have been complaining for weeks about low water pressure.
Murray tells Rough Draft they began hearing water running underneath the sidewalk two weeks ago before the sinkhole appeared and again alerted the city to their concerns. He says the city finally came out on Friday and shut the water off in one direction to begin looking into the problem.
When reached for comment on Sunday about the hole and water pressure issues,…
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