Tia's Kitchen shuts down due to ceiling collapse caused by flooding
A popular restaurant in Fayette County is temporarily shut down after parts of the ceiling collapsed.
Workers of Tia's Kitchen off Memorial Boulevard in Connellsville walked into a messy surprise Friday morning.
"Our cooks came in first, and they called us and said that, you know, it was flooded in here, and we weren't expecting this whenever we came in," Kaylynn Ajquejay said, owner of Tia's Kitchen.
She and her husband, Henry, rushed to the restaurant and said matters quickly got worse.
"There was just water pouring from the ceiling in multiple spots," Ajquejay said. "The ceiling tiles started falling down as we got here because they just filled with water."
Heavy rain overnight apparently puddled on the roof, causing the damage inside.
"The fire department came out, and they went up on the roof and there was a drain on the roof that was filled with leaves and debris. They said there was about two feet of water on the roof," Ajquejay said.
Water then poured inside, ruining their ceiling tiles, waterlogging tables and chairs, and destroying much of the restaurant.
"We pretty much put our heart and soul into this place. You know, this is our livelihood. This is, this is it," Ajquejay said. "It's just really sad."
Ajquejay said they've rented the space for about a year and a half and said the owner is responsible for keeping the roof clear.
'We're probably going to lose all of our food, and we'll have to order new food, and, you know, get everything repaired," Ajquejay said.
Tia Kitchen offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner including homemade American and Mexican cuisine and desserts.
"Everything we make is homemade. You know, we cook everything here. So, we've, we've really put a lot of time and effort into this restaurant," Ajquejay said.
Friday afternoon, ServePro workers could be seen inside the restaurant working to clean up.
"Their company is here assessing the damage, and they're going to try to get everything dried up and see where we can go from there. We have to have some inspections before we can get reopened," Ajquejay said.
The owners said they hope to reopen within a couple of weeks.