La Salsa Restaurant reopens in DeKalb after monthslong water repair work

DeKALB – After closing its doors temporarily in January, La Salsa Restaurant in DeKalb returned to serving up its popular tacos, salsa and carnitas this week.

For owner Olivia Agustin, reopening the establishment came with much anticipation.

“The clients were really happy that we came back, too,” Agustin said. “They’re really happy to see us back. They were wondering. Some people didn’t know that we had a water [pipe] burst.”

La Salsa Restaurant was forced to close temporarily in January over a water leakage issue, which required the establishment to undergo repairs.

“There was a water leak and a burst pipe,” Agustin said. “It was a day that was really raining outside, and frozen cold, and [it] burst the pipe upstairs, which is the [Huskie Grocery] Store. All the water came through the downstairs.”

Agustin estimates that there was about $10,000 worth of damage done to the restaurant at 901 Lucinda Ave., Suite B.

“Around $10,000, because all the food that you have to throw away – some product, some containers," Agustin said.

Agustin said that although the owner of the Village Commons building was responsible for repairing the burst pipe, she as the tenant had to cover the costs to replace the food and merchandise in her restaurant.

It took about two months to get the restaurant back to preparing and serving food again, which Agustin admits is a long time.

But she said she wanted to ensure that the establishment would be ready to reopen once she made it official.

“A lot of people were calling here and saying, ‘What happened?’” Agustin said. “They were worried.”

Agustin gave kudos to the DeKalb County Health Department and DeKalb Fire Department for everything they did.

“The health department and the fire department were very helpful,” Agustin said. “They made the process really easy for me. I was really thankful for them for being really kind and helpful.”

Agustin said her first day back in business went according to plan.

La Salsa Restaurant promoted its March 18 reopening on a local community Facebook page.

“It did really good,” Agustin said of the post.

La Salsa Restaurant usually has a regular special that it keeps in rotation for patrons.

The special includes three tacos, rice and beans, and a can of soda for $11.99.

Agustin said customers generally have positive things to say about the food at La Salsa Restaurant.

“It’s very delicious,” she said. “It’s really authentic Mexican food. They try to keep it more traditional as they can.”