There will be a power outage on Court Street from Union Street to Washington Street from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday. Businesses received no notice of the outage.
Ohio University students hoping to kick off the long weekend by scarfing down a burrito or sandwich Thursday night might be out of luck.
Unbeknownst to some business owners, Mayor Paul Wiehl announced at his weekly news conference Wednesday that there will be a planned electricity outage on South Court Street between Union and Washington streets from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday.
Deputy Service-Safety Director Ron Lucas said workers from AEP Ohio are finishing up work on the street that will primarily affect the east side of Uptown.
Wiehl, though, said that each side of that portion of Court will be in the dark.
Lucas added that city officials tried to accommodate businesses. They specifically asked AEP not to work earlier than 6 p.m., he said. AEP couldn’t be reached for comment.
“We were trying to avoid the lunch crowd and the day shift,” Lucas said.
The planned outage came as a surprise to some of Uptown Athens’ popular businesses.
Quinn Schaller, the owner of Big Mamma’s Burritos, said he had not received any sort of notice from the city, and wasn’t aware of the situation until about 15 minutes after Wiehl’s news conference.
“We can’t be open without power,” Schaller said, adding that Big Mamma’s will reopen when power is restored.
Schaller’s assistant manager, Levi Bebout, also was surprised by the news and said the outage would not be good for business at Big Mamma’s — or any other shop, for that matter.
“It could only have negative effects on businesses,” Bebout said.
Lori Linnevers, manager at Bagel Street Deli, also was blindsided by the announcement.
Linnevers said that Thursday’s outage will be the second one of the semester.
“It’d be nice if they were a little more clear,” Linnevers said, adding that she expects dinner time business to be at a standstill.
Linnevers said food refrigeration is a major concern when the deli’s power goes out.
Without a heads up, Bagel Street couldn’t plan ahead to get rid of perishables or secure a generator, she said.
But Linnevers added that, compared to the 11-hour outage they had previously experienced, six hours “wasn’t that bad.”
Though the businesses didn’t receive any notice, a release was posted to the front page of the Athens city website Tuesday.
Ohio University students living off-campus in Uptown apartments also were caught off guard.
Noah Rosenblatt, a junior studying business who lives at the Skyview Apartments, said the power outage won’t affect his Thursday night plans.
“When there’s a power outage, I just work around it.”
@Emilybohatch
eb346012@ohio.edu
