GEDDES, N.Y — For some food vendors at the Great New York State Fair, reopening after heavy rain and flooding meant more than mopping up water — it also required getting the all-clear from health inspectors before serving customers again.
Wednesday brought heavy rain and flooding throughout the fairgrounds, with Restaurant Row among the hardest-hit areas. Vendors there spent time cleaning and assessing damage.
“We went through and took inventory of what was damaged and what could and couldn’t be used. Scrubbed our floor really good,” said Gregory Horan, owner of Horan’s.
John Tornatore, owner of Basilio’s, said recent renovations helped protect his stand from the worst of the flooding.
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“We have a newer stand and the doors go tight down to the ground. It sealed off a lot of the water in the street and we do have drains inside here so we were pretty fortunate,” Tornatore said.
Even after the water receded, vendors could not reopen until health department inspectors determined it was safe. Horan said inspectors checked that vendors followed rules meant to prevent contamination.
“They do have initial rules to keep everything off the floor. They were making sure that was followed. Nothing was standing in water for any length of time and I think they were looking at how we cleaned up,” Horan said.
In addition to lost business while stands were closed, some vendors said they had to throw away products damaged by floodwater.
“We did lose several boxes of deli wrap. I would guess six or so cases of deli wrap which are now soaked with water,” said Joe Todisco, owner of J&J’s.
With the fair continuing, vendors said the closures and losses add pressure to make up revenue in the remaining days. The flooding comes as the fair is already working on long-term drainage improvements.