CINCINNATI (WXIX) – The pipes burst in a Downtown Cincinnati restaurant Monday afternoon, leading to a days-long closure that will impact business heading into the new year.
Hathaway’s Diner has been located inside the Carew Tower since 1956.
Employees got in Monday morning to find the restaurant frigid due to lingering cold temperatures from last week’s bomb cyclone/blizzard event.
The owners tried turning on the heat. Suddenly around 1 p.m. a pipe burst directly over the cash register, causing the ceiling to cave in.
The water continued to trickle into the restaurant three hours later, and the restaurant remains flooded Monday evening.
“It was cold all day,” said General Manager Steve Snyder. “We’ve been trying to heat the place up with heaters. The whole building is that way. There’s been leaks all over the building today.”
Snyder say there is major water damage.
“It’s very unfortunate. This is typically a very busy season, so between the cold weather of last week and now this today, it’s really gonna take a hit on our business.”
The owners will be in Tuesday for a damage assessment. Hathaway’s will likely be closed for much of the week.
“We’ll figure out what it takes to get back open,” Snyder said. “We’ve been open for 66 years, so we’re gonna keep at it.”
The Carew Tower was sold in August after a drawn-out foreclosure lawsuit that brought the former owner before a bankruptcy judge. Duke Energy threatened twice in 2021 to shut off the power to the building due to unpaid bills.
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Known for its burgers, goetta dishes and charming ‘50′s decor, Hathaway’s made a Food Network list of America’s best diners in 2019.
“The diner itself has gained a larger-than-life reputation by feeding generations of locals, from solo diners to curious foodies to longtime regulars, as well as a long list of famous folks, including Elvis Presley and President Eisenhower,” the Food Network piece reads.
Hathaway’s faced permanent closure the same year, but a lease renegotiation kept it open.
In 2021, the restaurant exchanged the cloistered space where it had dwelled the last 65 years—a “tomb with no windows,” per Owner Danny Holbrook—for a bright, outward-facing location within the same building at 25 W. Fifth Street.
The new location was formerly occupied by Frisch’s, which closed due to the pandemic.
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