STAFF at Wild Ginger worked around the clock in an attempt to re-open yesterday evening following a ceiling collapse at the popular Thai restaurant on Friday night.
When a torrential downpour struck the Blue Lake City, Wild Ginger was one of the first to suffer the consequences.
With the downpipes blocked, the rain had nowhere to go at the Commercial Street West restaurant and it started gushing through the roof during peak business hours.
Staff members Nawinthorn and Napisa Ketphong – whose parents own the restaurant – revealed their shock when they saw the amount of water filling the building.
“We were really busy and were just working in the kitchen when one of our staff members ran in to tell us there was water coming into the restaurant,” Napisa said.
“I thought it would just be dripping but when I came out it was everywhere, so we just rushed to get a bucket.”
As the water reached ankle height, Nawinthorn said customers moved to the middle of the shop.
“As a matter of safety we just asked them to move upstairs while we figured out and then we were eventually able to get them out of the shop,” Nawinthorn said.
Fortunately for staff working at the time, a passing Metropolitan Fire Service member noticed the commotion going on inside.
He quickly organised a crew to attend and the State Emergency Service arrived not long after.
“Thankfully the firefighter came because we did not really know what to do,” Nawinthorn said.
Napitha said it was not until after customers were evacuated and the store closed that the ceiling collapsed.
“We were just cleaning inside the kitchen and counting the money in the till when the ceiling just came down,” she said.
“We were really shocked, but it’s just fortunate no-one was injured.”
Nawinthorn said they hoped to re-open the shop yesterday evening after some tireless work over the weekend to repair the restaurant.
“We have been up really early most mornings to try and get the place ready for business again,” he said.
“The ceiling is now fixed and there is a bit of water damage to the floorboards, but we should be able to re-open.”
Naptiha said all the staff at Wild Ginger were thankful to everyone who helped during the ordeal, including the customers.
“They were very understanding and just wished us good luck and said they will be back,” she said.
“The Gambier Hotel were also really helpful providing us with buckets during the initial flooding.”
