What was once thought to be a two-day job turned into a few weeks and now the bad news for The Farmhouse is it will be at least three months before the restaurant's doors open again following a recent fire.
The Aug. 23 fire in the basement of the historic Bradford Street building started under a fuse panel, bringing in officials from the Electrical Safety Authority to have a look.
Farmhouse owner Randy Feltis told BarrieToday that's why the timeline has been pushed back so much.
“There was heat damage to the electrical panel. There were some charred wires and in the mechanical room, there is maybe 80 per cent of the electrical in that room,” he said. “We were advised that everything now has to come out of that room.”
The fire started at approximately 3 p.m. and the restaurant had about 70 people dining at the time; all were evacuated and there were no injuries.
Feltis says he is happy no one was hurt and now has his staff foremost on his mind.
“The sad thing is we had 34 people back to work. We were firing on all cylinders. Our numbers were getting close to what they were before COVID, even without being inside,” Feltis said Monday. “We were crushing it and the momentum felt good.
"We were about to get our wedding parties back because we could get 50 (people) upstairs, now this happens," he said of the fire and its effect on the business.
Feltis says he has business interruption insurance and wasn’t worried about the business surviving, but rather what it all looks like after what he hopes is only a three-month downtime.
“I like my staff, but they’re going to have to work, find jobs. There's understandably no guarantee they will be available to work when we’re open again, which means I’ll have to restaff and get all that lost momentum back,” Feltis said. “And that's based on the three months I’m being told. Who knows if it's going to end up being four.”
Barrie fire department officials told BarrieToday that what caused the blaze is "officially undetermined.”