'It's a hardship, plain and simple': Businesses navigate gas leak affecting thousands
DOUGLAS, Mich. — Thousands of homes and businesses continue to go without natural gas, following a major gas line break.
A third-party contractor was digging when they hit the transmission line for the gas main Wednesday afternoon, which carries gas from Canada to the Fennville, Douglas, and Saugatuck areas.
Gas was then shut off for safety reasons, suddenly leaving many local businesses without the ability to operate.
“We’ve never had a gas outage,” John Miller, CEO of Saugatuck Brewing Company, said. “So that presents a whole different set of issues and opportunities.”
Full restoration could still take several days, but according to Michigan Gas Utilities, they have started the process restoring service to people in the affected areas.
Many local businesses and restaurants are left to figure out how to operate in the meantime.
“They’re all impacted by this gas outage,” Ruth Crowe, a Douglas resident, said. “So I feel for them, just trying to make that work.”
Even without access to heat or their gas-powered grills, Miller said Saugatuck Brewing Company is one of the few restaurants in the area able to stay open.
“We’ve got a really good team, seasoned veterans,” Miller said. “They were able to adapt on the fly and really kind of make sure that we can do everything we wanted to do.”
The establishment currently has a renovated menu, relying on their smoker, steam heat from boiling water, and a lot of salads.
The restaurant is also utilizing a few different space heaters, creating a comfortable environment for their community.
“As well as the line workers,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of people coming down who are probably spending nights in hotels. So, we’ve been trying to communicate to everybody, ‘we are open, come on in. You can get warm and have a beer.’”
While the brewing company is making it work, many others may not be as lucky.
Some local businesses have temporarily closed, according to the Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. But, even when sales come to a halt, rent, utilities, and payroll continue.
“The financial side is very concerning. You’ve got employees, you’ve got things going on,” Miller said. “It’s a hardship, plain and simple.”
To ease the burden, some restaurants have turned to limited hours to takeout options.
“What’s really great about this community is that the local people are supporting that,” Crowe said. “Just trying to help them out during this period of being closed when they hadn’t anticipated being closed.”
With a tight-knit community like Douglas, Miller said people will step up. Some of the ways they’re doing so are buying a giftcard to use at a later time, utilizing the takeout option, and tipping generously.
“Anything that we can do like that to help each other out I think is is the most important thing because we don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Crowe said.