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Local Restaurant Stays Open During Boil Water Advisory While Many Other Close

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - When the water went out on Tuesday and then came back a few hours later under a boil water advisory the folks at the Bigham Tavern wanted to know what to do to stay open.

"We have so many employees who rely on this for their incomes so that's our first concern. Plus we are a neighborhood restaurant and we want to stay open to serve our loyal customers," says owner Jessica Rewis.

So she called the health department.

"They sent us a packet that tells restaurants how to operate under a boil water advisory," says Rewis.

It may be a cumbersome process and one the Grandview Avenue fine dining restaurants decided not to try to stay open but it didn't scare off Rewis.

"We've switched all to bottled water and canned soda and we're serving all our food on disposables like wax paper and paper plates things like that. Luckily we're a casual restaurant and we have the ability to do so."

They are also boiling water to use to wash utensils and eating ware.

On Grandview Avenue the LaMont canceled all reservations for Wednesday and Thursday, Monterey Bay closed its doors and had to dispose of all the fish it had packed in ice made with the water, and all the other restaurants on the strip were locked up tight.

PWSA spokesman Will Pickering says the water was restored to the entire area by late Thursday.

"Best case scenario we'll lift the advisory for the Mt. Washington and Duquesne Heights area tomorrow."

But he says it will be another 48 hours for the area that just got their water restored Thursday afternoon so the boil water advisory could push into the weekend.

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