Fall River restaurant closes for renovations after pipes burst

February 22, 2016 5:35 pm

By Ana Bottary

anabottary@yahoo.com

@anabottary

Academica Restaurant, a club in Fall River, has seen better days. Crews were hard at work ripping up walls, ceilings, and floors Monday, after subzero degree weather earlier this month lead to the building’s pipes freezing and bursting. It’s a nightmare for club Vice President, Junior Paquette.

"When we first walked in at 7 a.m., that the whole building was just pouring water all over the place. Literally, three quarters of the building is pretty much destroyed," says Paquette.

Paquette took over as shareholder for his father about three years ago, but says he grew up coming here. The building has a history, as it was originally the hub in the city for Portuguese immigrants.

"When you needed a job this was the first location you would come to," explains Paquette.

The extent of the damage is still under review. As of now, the estimated cost of the renovation is at least three quarters of a million dollars.

"The biggest thing we affected and feel affected is our customers. That has been very difficult for us to swallow over the last week," he adds.

The owners are not only loosing daily business but customers were there Monday getting their money back for events they had planned, like Natalia Arraiol, whose sister-in-law was planning her bridal shower.

"We were in shock, and she was actually really upset. She was crying because Academica is such a nice place, its classy the food is great. We are all a little upset because it’s kind of last minute… we had everything planned and stuff but something like this is unfortunate,” says Arraiol.

Paquette is giving everyone who put down a deposit their refund, and staying positive despite the current situation.

"We just want to say we will be back and we will bounce back again," he says.