SINGAPORE - Several restaurants at Chijmes in Victoria Street were affected by a disruption in gas supply on Wednesday, which lasted a full day.
The restaurant operators were alerted to a gas pipe leak, which was attended to by power company SP Group, and told not to use gas stoves in the kitchen.
The use of electric stoves or microwave ovens for cooking was allowed.
Some outlets ended up being able to serve only beverages and had to cancel dining reservations, Shin Min Daily News reported on Thursday.
In response to media queries, a spokesman for Perennial (Singapore) retail management, which manages Chijmes, said on Thursday it was notified at 9.40am on Wednesday of a possible leak from one of the external underground gas pipelines connecting to Chijmes.
“As a safety measure, the gas supply from the suspected pipeline was immediately turned off, and thorough inspection and rectification works were carried out,” the spokesman said.
“Preliminary findings by our appointed contractor indicated that the leak was likely due to soil erosion, which had loosened the bolts on the pipe.”
The spokesman added that about 10 outlets were affected and closed during the process. The gas supply was resumed at 3.15am on Thursday after all checks were completed.
All outlets at Chijmes operated as usual on Thursday.
A supervisor at Anglo Indian Cafe and Bar, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ali, said of the disruption: “We had to cancel around 15 dining reservations, along with a birthday event that was scheduled for about 18 guests.
“This led to a loss of around $8,000 to $9,000, which is a huge amount as our monthly rental is about $40,000 to $45,000.”
He added that several customers reacted angrily, with some accusing the restaurant of not paying its electricity and gas bills.
The restaurant also had to turn away walk-in customers and offer them free drinks for the inconvenience caused. It faced additional losses by not being able to fulfil food delivery orders.
“I hope this incident and the last-minute cancellation of reservations do not give customers a bad impression of the restaurant,” Mr Ali added.
Japanese restaurant Tatsu experienced similar disruptions and had to cancel reservations.
Its spokesman said its staff arrived at 11am to find SP Group workers turning off the gas supply outside Chijmes for safety reasons.
Responding to queries on Friday, SP Group said: “We detected a gas leak during a routine survey of our network in the vicinity of Chijmes on Wednesday. Upon investigation, we detected the leak at Chijmes’ internal pipe.”
SP’s network was in order, it added. Gas supply to the affected internal pipe was isolated to ensure the safety of everyone in the vicinity.
“We understand that Chijmes had subsequently activated repair works. Following the completion of the works, we assisted with the gas supply restoration on Thursday,” SP said.
