Owners of The Alpine on Dundas West are fuming at the City of Toronto over its handling of an extended closure due to ongoing water issues, saying the situation has been 'devastating' for business.

The Toronto restaurant has been documenting a drainage issue since mid-January that has forced the cancellation of events and closures of the dining area.

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A post shared by The Alpine (@thealpinetoronto)

Management again took to social media on Saturday afternoon, voicing anger after Toronto Water crews were unable to locate the problem pipe and vacated the job site, resulting in the restaurant missing yet another weekend of business.

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A post shared by The Alpine (@thealpinetoronto)

The Alpine's Instagram post from Saturday explains that crews shut down the work site after failing to locate the pipe, forcing the Nordic-themed bar and restaurant to miss its second consecutive weekend of business.

"They will start up again on Monday, which means that we will be closed all weekend. For those of you following our story, this means that we will have been closed for at least 11 days (if they even fix it on Monday)!"

The post goes on to explain that a call to 3-1-1 was first placed on Friday, January 19 and claims that City crews "didn't get the work started until eight days later."

"This means 11 days (minimum) of no revenue, no work for our employees, as well as cancelled live music and other entertainment. This is absolutely devastating and will have a hugely negative impact on everyone involved's finances and ability to pay rent."

Restaurant management has called on Mayor Olivia Chow, Ward 4 Parkdale—High Park Councillor, Gord Perks, local MPP Bhutila Karpoche and MP Arif Virani to step in.

In their latest Instagram post, management takes aim at the politicians, saying, "You say to support small businesses and then tie our hands like this? After years of struggling from COVID? How are we supposed to pay back $60,000 worth of CEBA loans when we are forced to close down? We are beyond frustrated."

A City of Toronto representative tells blogTO that the City has "been working with the property owner for several days and will continue to work to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. City staff attended the site, met with the property owner and have hired a contractor to make repairs."

The City later followed up, explaining that "staff first attended the site in the morning of Jan 20. At that time, restaurant staff were not on site, so City staff were unable to get inside the property to conduct their investigation."

"Due to the complex nature of site conditions and the depth of the sewer, additional investigations were required in the days that followed," they added.

"Staff investigated and have determined the issue is a blocked sewer service connection. Repairs are underway. No other properties are affected."

The City representative tells blogTO that work to repair the sewer service connection is indeed underway and is expected to be completed by Tuesday.