What began as a deep but much smaller hole in front of Sufi’s Kitchen on Peachtree Road in Buckhead on Friday, has now turned into a large sinkhole that swallowed the Persian restaurant’s sign on Monday afternoon. It’s also threatening neighboring restaurants R. Thomas Deluxe Grille and Bell Street Burritos as well as the southbound lanes of Peachtree Road.
Crews will apparently work overnight to repair the damaged sidewalk, road, and water pipe in hopes of allowing the restaurants to reopen for lunch on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, R. Thomas chef John Vo told WSB-TV that the hole went right up to Sufi’s patio. He was afraid it would widen and cave in if not addressed soon by the city. Area restaurants have been complaining for weeks about low water pressure.
Waring Murray, CFO of R. Thomas Deluxe Grille, tells Rough Draft they began hearing water running underneath the sidewalk two weeks ago before the sinkhole appeared and again alerted the city to their concerns. He says the city finally came out on Friday and shut the water off in one direction to begin looking into the problem.
When reached for comment on Sunday about the hole and water pressure issues, the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management told WSB-TV they were “investigating” the issue that could “cause water disruption for both residents and businesses in the vicinity.” They said they would address “any chance of road erosion” should it become a possibility.
“Unfortunately, for the past 40 days water has been leaking in front of our neighbor’s restaurant or should I say gushing now there is a 15-foot sinkhole on Peachtree Street. Unfortunately, R Thomas will close tonight and see what kind of remedies the city of Atlanta will give us to fix the water issues,” a statement posted to R. Thomas’s Facebook page on Monday afternoon reads.
Two photos of the large sinkhole accompany the post. Water gushes beneath where the sidewalk has collapsed, taking Sufi’s sign and part of the patio with it. New video from WSB-TV on Monday evening shows a portion of Peachtree Road southbound partially collapsed.
“We’ve been told by the city that we will hopefully be open for lunch tomorrow,” Murray says. “They’re going to shut the water off tonight, excavate, and repair and rebuild the sidewalk and roadway. We should have access to utilities hopefully tomorrow.”
“Our building is structurally okay,” Murray adds. “The only thing we’ve been missing is water pressure.” As for R. Thomas’s beloved birds, he says they seem unfazed by the commotion taking place beyond their cages.
Rough Draft reached out to Sufi’s Kitchen and the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management for further comment on the sinkhole and plans to repair the damage. Check back for updates.
This story was updated with comments from Waring Murray of R. Thomas Deluxe Grille on Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.
