Bistro AIX is closed temporarily because of plumbing issues – with hundreds of holiday weekend reservations at stake.
The restaurant is at 1440 San Marco Blvd. in San Marco.
General Manager Lucas Rivera said Dec. 29 that what was thought to be a simple drain backup turned into a more complicated issue that involves removing part of the kitchen floor.
At 10:30 a.m. Dec. 29, he had no definitive word on the cause of the problem or how long it would take to repair.
He said numerous plumbers were on-site, reflecting the urgency of the situation.
“This is going to cost us $100,000 if we can’t get this fixed before the weekend,” Rivera said.
“We need to open because we have 300 reservations for Friday and 300 reservations for Saturday. We don’t want to cancel those reservations.”
In a post on its Facebook page at 9:21 p.m. Dec. 27, Bistro AIX said the restaurant would close temporarily. It gave no reason for the closure.
Bistro AIX is an upscale French restaurant that was opened in 1999 by Mike and Terry Schneider, who created The Loop Pizza Grill chain. They sold Bistro AIX in 2014 to Forking Amazing Restaurants, owner of Cowford Chophouse.
In 2020, the restaurant was sold to New York City-based San Marco AIX LLC for an undisclosed price. It was reported at the time of the sale that the owners have a 20-year lease on the building.