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EDGEWATER, Colo. (KDVR) — Following the pandemic, some businesses are just starting to get back on their feet. Now one business in Edgewater is asking for the public’s help again after a water main broke and flooded the tavern.

The community is coming together to raise funds for employees of Providence at 5280 after all the damage.

Owner Cody Ford was off on Saturday when he got a call from his general manager letting him know the water was coming out of the wall in the indoor patio space.

He said he meticulously puts the water on a slow drip during cold nights and he was the one who closed up the tavern the night before. He’s over-cautious about plumbing issues because the building is so old. 

An underground water main broke near Ames Street and backed up the pipe underground and flooded the tavern.

After going through several contractors to try and find exactly where the leak was coming from, Ford said that Diaz Construction finally was able to determine the spot of the leak.

Unfortunately, the floor is ripped up in the bathroom and on the indoor patio so the plan is to open in a limited capacity on Monday.

He said so far the repairs cost them a six-figure amount for all the damage and then another six-figure loss in profit due to the warm weekend they had to close for eight days.

That means eight days without customers and without profit.

“That was a crazy experience. It was like a bad dream,” Ford said. “We came in and started peeling the wall back trying to take a look at it to patch the plumbing. and we had a river running underneath the building.”

Their building is 102 years old and the historic brick that used to be a wall that now is their floor will now have to be replaced. Server Bonnie and Ford are bummed a piece of history has to be removed.

“Just try to move ahead. Luckily we’ve got a lot of outdoor seating,” Ford said.

Another hiccup through the fresh coat of snow in their backyard.

Despite the hurdles, the spirit of the Edgewater community remains.  

An Edgewater effort, called Love Edgewater, has created an online fund for employees.  

“Concern for our hourly employees that have literally no income right now. and that’s who we’re all more concerned about than we are the business or the building or any of that,” Ford said. “We want to make sure that those guys have an opportunity to recoup some of the losses.”

“You just learned to adapt,” Bonnie said. “Everybody that works here is like good friends are known for decades. so our team was just really what holds us together.”

They plan to reopen in that limited capacity tomorrow and they plan to be fully operational by Saint Patrick’s Day.

They’re excited for the warmer weather to come back so they can welcome dogs back to the patio and add their picture to the pups of Providence wall.