Charlotte restaurant manager contacts WBTV for help after downed lines block entrance for weeks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Update: After WBTV started asking questions, the city contacted the utility company responsible for the lines and they removed them from the property.

The manager of an east Charlotte restaurant says they lost business over the course of almost a month because of downed lines blocking one of the entrances to their parking lot.

Jacob Kotsoupais, the manager of Tryon House Restaurant on Eastway Drive, says the lines were down since May 2nd after a delivery driver hit a utility pole.

“Duke and Spectrum came out and got the power back on and got the lines pulled to the sidewalk, [but] one line wasn’t theirs, so they said, and they just left it there,” Kotsoupais said.

He said they’ve been trying to get someone from local utility companies or the city to clear it away.

“We’ve called AT&T, Spectrum, Duke, Lumens, everyone that we can think of whose line it could be, and no one’s claiming it,” he said.

WBTV asked the city on Thursday why they have not been able to send a crew to remove the lines. In a statement, a spokesperson for the city said:

“The owners of the Tryon House Restaurant made the correct calls to report the downed lines, and find a solution. When local utility companies looked at the lines, they all reported no ownership. Thursday afternoon, CDOT engineers were out looking at the lines on the sidewalk to determine the next steps, and concluded the lines are not involved with the city.”

“We’ve had a lot of customers who we haven’t seen like regulars that we’ll see once or twice a week who we didn’t see for a week, week and a half come in and say I thought you were closed,” Kotsoupais said.

He also said it was a safety hazard.

“People can trip over it,” he said. “It’s still kind of going out into the street a little bit when the wind blows. A car could clip it if they’re not paying attention.”

Kotsoupais contacted WBTV because he says he could not get help from the city or any of the utility companies.

“We’ve exhausted all options on our part,” he said.

After WBTV contacted the city, they sent a crew to investigate the situation the same day and by that evening, the lines were removed.

A city spokesperson also said if anyone is in a similar situation and feels there is a safety concern with downed power lines, another option is to call the non-emergency line for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

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