If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question, I could re-build the place by now.
First, a brief history about the place. The ‘TOE’ as us regulars called it was open for almost 20 years. The original owner Martin, only owned the place for about a year before selling it to Razmik ‘RAZ’ Mktarian. Raz and his wife ran the place until his death about 8 years ago. She operated the business until its closure.
What I do know;
In February of 2014, a City of Sioux Falls fire Hydrant on the corner of 12th and Phillips in front of the restaurant exploded. It took the fire department over an hour (according to witnesses) to shut it off. The result was almost 2 feet of water in the basement restaurant and other properties, including Bechtold’s jewelry.
The result of the flooding destroyed all of the belongings in the restaurant. It also destroyed some plumbing and electrical and also damaged the foundation.
What I ‘kind of’ know;
Insurance helped pay for cleanup and gutting the restaurant.
What I am not sure of;
I think the property owner and restaurant owner were in negotiations with the city’s risk management department for compensation for damages, but I am not sure if anything was resolved. I think a request to fix the foundation and to make the place ADA compatible came from the city before it could reopen.
Even if the place will not reopen (the owner has moved on, and has no intention of reopening the TOE at that location or any other.) I still feel the city owes the building owner and restaurant owner for loss of business and damages. The damage was clearly caused by the city’s faulty pipes, and this is what the city has risk insurance for. Like I said, not sure if that compensation has occurred, but it is highly unlikely. Ever try to squeeze blood out of a turnip?
It’s unfortunate that the state’s first Jazz Club had to go out this way, it’s even more sad that our city can’t even own up to causing the damage.