Wilf’s restoration on the way

While last Saturday’s sewage leak in Wilf’s has indefinitely closed the establishment for the rest of the semester, Pizza Pizza and Harvey’s in the Terrace food court will re-open today for regular hours of operation.

The news comes after culture tests from the Terrace passed an inspection by public health, showing acceptable levels of bacteria.

Restoration workers worked from Saturday at 6 p.m. until Sunday morning at 7 a.m. to clean and sanitize both affected and unaffected areas.

Wilf’s remains closed as restoration teams work to restore, sanitize and clean the establishment. New drainage will be retrofitted as well. This new drainage will no longer join the Terrace and Wilf’s black water and sewage drains, in the hopes of preventing the situation from recurring.

Michael McMahon, general manager of Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union (WLUSU), began to describe the complex process.

“It’s a specific type of insurance required for sewage back-up, it’s also known as a category three, black water seeping up from both the kitchen and bathrooms.”
He explained that WLUSU has excellent insurance coverage and expects the only real cost to be the deductibles which will amount to $10,000.

“There [are] several types of insurance that come into play here: for the facility itself, the improvements that have been made and the cost of business interruption. The business interruption insurance insures that the business operation itself and the employees who work there,” McMahon explained.

He added that students who work for WLUSU can relax because they will be paid as though work did not stop.

“They’ll be continuing with regularly scheduled payroll, they will continue to be employed by the Students’ Union even though the disaster has affected the facility they work in,” he said.

The issue of tips received by bartenders, servers and wait staff is unclear, and McMahon explained that the reimbursement will be processed later as it’s something that may not be covered by insurance.

The Remembrance Day ceremony reception will be held in the Hawk’s Nest at the Turret instead of Wilf’s, and all Late Night Society events will continue to be held at the Turret.