City nightspot closes doors after floods wreak havoc
fears over festive period as restaurant faces costly repairs
Published:
A popular Aberdeen nightspot has been forced to close its doors for at least a month after flooding caused thousands of pounds of damage.
Staff at Dizzy’s Bar and Diner hope the restaurant will be open again in time for the busy festive period, but are not taking any bookings until they know when the costly repairs will be completed.
The Carden Place pub was under 6in of water after the heavy rainfall on Sunday and a blockage at the nearby Den Burn.
The burn overflowed into Albert Lane, the street behind Dizzy’s, and then into the restaurant and other businesses nearby.
Carol Munro, the manager at Dizzy’s, said: “We are closed on Sundays, so no one realised what had happened until it was too late and everything was past saving.
“I was told about it at 9pm on Sunday, and when I got here it was clear there was not an inch of the building that had not been affected.
“Everything will have to be replaced, we are looking at new carpets, furniture and wallpaper. I had no idea water could cause so much damage to a building.
“We are hoping it will only take around four weeks for the repairs and then we can reopen.
“The problem is knowing when we can take bookings again, especially coming up to the busy Christmas period.”
Other businesses in the area are also counting the cost of the weekend’s flooding. Knutsen OAS staff arrived at the shipping company’s office at Queen’s Cross on Monday morning to find its ground floor under 4ft of water.
Gene Randall, part of the operations team at Knutsen OAS, said: “It was completely bizarre, there was furniture floating around our basement. It has caused a lot of disruption for us. A few members of staff do not have anywhere to work while we try to repair the damage, and we do not think repairs will be finished until next year.
“A lot of paperwork was damaged because of the flooding, but we know it could have been much worse. This is where we work, but some people have lost their personal possessions in these floods.”
The Den Burn burst its banks in the Rosemount area of the city on Sunday after garden waste blocked the Jack’s Brae culvert.
It was the second time in two months it had overflowed in Rosemount, forcing council staff to close the Denburn car park both times.
A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council said: “Council staff were called to the Queen’s Cross area of the Den Burn at around 6pm, and with a digger were able to clear the blockage within half an hour.”
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