Frozen pipes flood new Albany restaurant

ALBANY – The Copper Crow in Albany just recently opened its doors. However, it will now be closed for several weeks because of flooding caused by frozen pipes.

This all started Sunday afternoon. There was a pipe burst upstairs in the warehouse.

This sent water flowing into the storage area, the bathrooms and a portion of their dining room.

Jason Pierce is the owner. He says they were able to stop the water and even open. However, there was another pipe burst 12 hours later that sent over 65,000 gallons of water through the restaurant.

Pierce says there is a couple of hundred thousand dollars in damage. He says they are going to have to rebuild parts of the bar, and they will need new lighting fixtures.

Pierce says they just opened for indoor dining four weeks ago, and had a good crowd. The pandemic delayed their opening. So when he walked in Monday, he was devastated.

"When I walked in here, water was just cascading down from the ceiling at all points, and to be honest with you, I think I went into a state of shock. I might have cried for a moment. It’s pretty overwhelming."

Pierce is upset that his business will be closed again for weeks. He is optimistic that they will overcome this obstacle and open again.

"It’s hard to stay positive. We’ve dealt with a tremendous amount. The adversity that we’ve had to overcome during this pandemic has been astounding. It makes you stronger at the end of the day. You overcome, you persevere, and you move on," he said.

MORE: GoFundMe to help The Copper Crow