A water main break on Route 206 in Somerset County is taking a bite out of business along Main Street in Somerville.
Restaurants near the Somerset County Health Department were forced to close until repairs to that break are completed.
Ambee Coffee Company was one of the first to put up a sign on the door Wednesday morning confirming they had to shut down for the day. The shop will remain dark and the espresso machines aren't being powered up.
Shop owner Steve Chiocchi said he’s just waiting on word from the health department to reopen.
“Obviously it’s inconvenient, it’s a beautiful fall day here. We’d probably do really good sales today,” Chiocchi says.
He said that back in July, a water main at the very same location caused restaurants to close for four days.
Jasmine Gayle, one Ambee's customers, told News 12 New Jersey that the sign on the coffee shop door was how she found out about the main break.
“I just didn’t realize this was a huge problem yet. Until right this second. And seeing that a lot of stores are closed because of this,” Gayle said.
Across the street at Yokohama Sushi, management was getting ready for the lunch crowd and even showed us they were no longer dealing with low water pressure.
The Health Department started slapping notices on all of these restaurants which stated that restaurants must be inspected and cleared before opening.
That was unfortunate for those looking to eat a favorite meal on lunch break. Adeela Khatoon was trying to enjoy lunch at Yokohama with a few friends from work.
“This was our first trip back after they opened and remodeled and excited for the whole experience again,” Khatoon said.
The water main broke around 6:30 a.m. Residents around Somerville and Bridgewater woke up with no or low water pressure.
Everyone is now waiting on repairs to see if they’ll be back at work or school on Thursday.
Previous coverage by News 12's Tony Caputo