Posted on Sep 3, 2022
Unsafe water challenges Jackson, Miss., restaurant owners, who must look elsewhere
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https://www.npr.org/2022/09/03/ [login to see] /unsafe-water-challenges-jackson-miss-restaurant-owners-who-must-look-elsewhere
eZra Brown, owner of Soulé Coffee and Bubble Tea, starts his day differently than most other restaurant operators in the nation — traveling to neighboring cities for water and ice to serve his customers.
When Brown opened his cafe less than a month ago in Jackson, Miss., the city was entering the third week of a boil-water notice because of low pressure at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant. Then flooding at the Pearl River in early August caused the plant's pumps to fail.
Officials don't know when the health alert will end.
"If you have a boil alert, we have to get our ice from another city," Brown said. "We're rolling through 100 plus pounds of ice every single day. One-hundred-plus pounds, not including water. If you want a lemonade, if you want a green tea, that's all bottled water that we have to have.
More than 40 Jackson restaurant owners wrote a letter to Mississippi's governor and Jackson's mayor in early August, telling them that the repeated boil water orders and outages were costing them hundreds of dollars a day.
eZra Brown, owner of Soulé Coffee and Bubble Tea, starts his day differently than most other restaurant operators in the nation — traveling to neighboring cities for water and ice to serve his customers.
When Brown opened his cafe less than a month ago in Jackson, Miss., the city was entering the third week of a boil-water notice because of low pressure at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant. Then flooding at the Pearl River in early August caused the plant's pumps to fail.
Officials don't know when the health alert will end.
"If you have a boil alert, we have to get our ice from another city," Brown said. "We're rolling through 100 plus pounds of ice every single day. One-hundred-plus pounds, not including water. If you want a lemonade, if you want a green tea, that's all bottled water that we have to have.
More than 40 Jackson restaurant owners wrote a letter to Mississippi's governor and Jackson's mayor in early August, telling them that the repeated boil water orders and outages were costing them hundreds of dollars a day.
Unsafe water challenges Jackson, Miss., restaurant owners, who must look elsewhere
Posted from npr.org
Food/Chow
Restaurants
Jackson
Water
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."As of Thursday, half of the water tanks had begun filling up, and some homes and businesses closer to the plant were seeing water pressure return. Those further away remained affected.
For Brown, solutions can't come soon enough. He opened Soulé Coffee as a hub for local creatives to collaborate and dream, but he's grinding. He's the sole employee, and he said the hiring process has been slower than he expected.
Right now, he works more than 12 hours a day to make sure his first months are successful. He wants city and state government officials to cooperate so Black-owned businesses like his can thrive.
"Now I need y'all to do your job," Brown said. "Get me clean water."
..."As of Thursday, half of the water tanks had begun filling up, and some homes and businesses closer to the plant were seeing water pressure return. Those further away remained affected.
For Brown, solutions can't come soon enough. He opened Soulé Coffee as a hub for local creatives to collaborate and dream, but he's grinding. He's the sole employee, and he said the hiring process has been slower than he expected.
Right now, he works more than 12 hours a day to make sure his first months are successful. He wants city and state government officials to cooperate so Black-owned businesses like his can thrive.
"Now I need y'all to do your job," Brown said. "Get me clean water."
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