Conflicting messages from Grand Prairie officials left restaurants in uncertainty Wednesday and Thursday, the two-day period after a foaming agent used to extinguish fires was found in the city’s water supply. The restrictions were lifted late Thursday evening.
Dozens of the restaurants closed on Wednesday, after the city asked residents not to use the contaminated water except to flush and businesses were left confused as to whether they were allowed to open.
Grand Prairie City Mayor Ron Jensen said during a press conference on Wednesday the city was not forcing any restaurants to close due to the water situation.
“We are not forcing anybody to do anything,” said the mayor. “We usually don’t tell people what they have to do. We highly recommend it, and I would recommend they stay closed until we lift it. But I didn’t know we were doing anything more than recommending.”
However, some businesses received visits from code enforcement officers, who told restaurants to close until the water supply returned to normal or receive a ticket.
The mayor’s statement caused concern for some restaurants and some decided to open anyway, working to bring in water from out of town to aid in hand-washing and other sanitation needs.
Don Juan’s Romantic Mexican Food, located at 325 Main St., was among the restaurants that received a visit from code enforcement.
On Wednesday, Mason Parker, the owner’s son and general manager, brought water from their second location in Payne Springs, but the work-around was short-lived.
“We brought in buckets of water, and we were ready to open. Then the minute we opened, code enforcement was here, and they said we can’t be open,” Parker told The Dallas Morning News.
“We said, ‘Well, what if we do (open) anyway?’ And they said, ‘We’ll give you a ticket.’ So we called their boss, and they said, ‘Yeah, you got to get that hot, running water.’ And we were like, ‘OK, that makes sense.’ So we closed down.”
Don Juan’s opened its doors on Thursday after Parker heard the mayor speak during the Wednesday press conference, opting to bring in more filtered water to wash their hands and dishes.
Parker said he believed the mayor was doing the best he could with the information he had.
“But at the same time, when you have someone saying that in a live press conference, it’s kind of a confusing signal,” Parker said.
Parker said code enforcement officials visited Don Juan’s again on Thursday, but they allowed them to stay open as long as they didn’t use water from the restaurant facilities.
“The safety of our customers is obviously paramount, and the minute we run out of water — if we do — we’ll close,” Parker said.
Eric Alvarez, Grand Prairie’s marketing and communications manager, confirmed to The News that city officials were visiting restaurants.
“Public health specialists visited all restaurants within the affected area on Wednesday to let them know that, in accordance with The Texas Food Establishment Rules, they would be unable to operate until the do not use order was rescinded,” Alvarez said in a statement.
Another person who was confused by the conflicting messages from authorities was Tierra Neal, general manager at Mr. Jim’s Pizza at 553 Pioneer Pkwy. She said city authorities visited her business Wednesday afternoon and told her they had to close.
“We stayed open yesterday [Wednesday] until about 4 p.m., and then someone from the city came by and told us that we had to shut down,” said Neal to The News. “We had water bottles and we were using those to wash our hands and stuff, but they said that wasn’t good enough because we had to be able to use hot water, and we get that.”
What puzzled Neal was to hear the mayor saying the city was not forcing closures, as she had a different experience.
“I feel everybody is getting mixed messages or no messages at all, and that is creating like some panic,” she said.
Late Thursday evening, city officials announced that tap water in Grand Prairie was safe again, but advised residents to flush their systems before using it. The city posted instructions and timing by zone for proper flushing on its website. The notice also included recommendations for commercial buildings to flush all water systems.
