‘Like we’re on the Titanic’: Upscale German Village restaurant floods, temporarily closes
Heavy rain sent water rushing into parts of German Village over the weekend, flooding streets and businesses and leaving some neighborhood staples cleaning up and drying out.
Perhaps the most dramatic scene unfolded inside Cento, the upscale Italian restaurant at 595 S. Third St.
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Video shared on social media shows water covering the dining room floor as employees walk through the restaurant. Chairs were moved on top of tables as workers dealt with the rising water.
“Do you guys feel like we’re on the Titanic?” someone can be heard saying.
A spokesperson for Cento told 614NOW the restaurant cleaned up and reopened Sunday night.
Cento sits along a stretch of South Third Street where flooding was particularly significant Saturday night. Photos and videos shared by residents showed deep water in the area. The water nearly reached the door handles of cars, and some residents reported cars floating away.
The Book Loft of German Village also dealt with water issues. The bookstore announced that its Lower East Wing, which houses children’s books and graphic novels, was temporarily closed “due to extensive leaks/flooding.” A photo shared by the store showed an illustrated bookshelf partially submerged in water.
The Book Loft, located at 631 S. Third St., is one of German Village’s best-known businesses and contains 32 rooms of books inside several connected pre-Civil War-era buildings.
Other neighborhood businesses reported escaping the worst of the flooding.
At 3rd & Sycamore, co-founder and CEO Jim Thieken said the business experienced some water issues but was able to reopen this week.
“No worse for the wear here at 3rd & Sycamore,” Thieken told 614NOW. “We did have some water issues, but we are open today. Business as usual.”
Lindey’s on East Beck Street said their team managed to stay dry.
“Fortunately, Lindey’s was not affected by [Saturday] night’s severe weather, and we are open and operating during our regular business hours,” Events & Catering Manager Carly Slattery and Events & Catering Coordinator Jesse Caton told 614NOW.
Kittie’s Cakes also reported that its locations made it through the storms without significant problems.
“We have been extremely lucky this week at all of our Kittie’s locations after these storms that have impacted so many of our fellow small business owners, customers and friends,” owners Diane and Steve Herman told 614NOW.
Central Ohio was already experiencing a wet and destructive stretch of weather. Before Saturday’s storms, forecasters warned that saturated ground combined with additional heavy rainfall could create a significant flooding threat. Damaging winds and an EF1 tornado tore through the neighborhoods just south of German Village.
A representative for Katzinger’s Deli said: “We did lose power Tuesday that caused us to lose most of our refrigerator dependent foods; Wednesday power was back and we were remaking all the food we lost. We are open and ready for business!”
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