The 18th Street sinkhole has been under monitoring and repair since earlier this week.
Because sinkholes are unpredictable, businesses like Love's Kitchen were asked to close temporarily.
Fanny Johnson is executive director of Love's Kitchen.
“I had some peace of mind knowing that everyone was safe, but when I found out Love's Kitchen was potentially going to be closed for two weeks, that was a whole new problem that I had to deal with,” Johnson said.
Johnson knew his customers could handle it for a day or two, but not two weeks.
She reached out to sister organizations such as Wesley House and the Salvation Army as backup to maintain meal service to the community.
“We wanted to feed people, but we didn't want to put people at risk. So, I was there with Public Works for a while and some engineers spoke to me and they determined it was safe to open up the street and have people come back to Love's Kitchen,” Johnson said.
Entering from C Street, Love's Kitchen will be the furthest point through which vehicles can pass until repairs are completed.
Johnson said many of Love's customers are low-income workers who struggle to pay their bills.
Thanks to the quick action of the Department of Public Works, City Council and engineers, Love's can continue to help them and prevent homelessness.
“We're important to this community and this community supports us because we rely on charities, donations and businesses,” Johnson said.
While work to repair the sinkholes is still ongoing, the Department of Public Works has partially reopened 18 roads.Number The street is maintained to ensure that Love's Kitchen patrons never go a day without eating.
