Vandalism further delays World of Wings opening
“When I walked in, I was looking around thinking that the contractor did sanding,” project manager Donnie Beasley said. “Then I noticed it was fire extinguisher powder.”
The powder coated the floor and furniture on the bottom of the restaurant and reached the mezzanine and ceiling.
“Despite the damage, no items were stolen,” Detective Robert Butler said. “It looks like a random act of vandalism.”
Unfortunately, the random act caused extensive damage and caused WOW’s opening to fall behind schedule.
“The incident threw us two weeks off,” Beasley said. “The extinguisher dust got all up in the pipes, we had to bring everything outside and had a cleaning service come in.”
After the cleaning though, WOW seemed to bounce back quickly. With clean seating, more flat-screen televisions, and kitchen appliances in place, the employees at WOW are gearing up for an opening in a few short weeks.
Even though WOW repaired the damage, Public Safety has not yet found the person responsible for the incident.
“We are going in and reviewing the video footage,” Butler said. “Public Safety is asking anyone with information to come forward.”
Butler, and the Public Safety Department, insist that if anyone comes forward, their names will be kept confidential.
Despite the incident, students appear unconcerned with the issue.
“I think people will take more care now,” Roslyn Ellis said. “But Public Safety has got it covered.”
Though news of the incident did not spread widely among students, many people still feel safe on campus.
“I do not really feel uncomfortable about crime,” Brandon Cole said. “Just because things have happened recently, does not mean a big increase in crime overall.”
Despite the incident, spirits remain high with WOW managers, employees and potential customers.
“I am still looking forward to eating there,” dorm resident Ellie Ebert said. “I hope it opens soon.”
According to retail manager Gerald Richardson, WOW wants to shoot for an opening prior to Thanksgiving.
Richardson and Beasley, along with fellow staff members, seem very excited with the prospect of the upcoming opening. In response to demands of students, WOW plans to operate in the evening and late at night. After discussing possible hours of operation, WOW plans to be open from 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
“Those are the hours tentatively.” Richardson said. “But we hope interested students will later request more hours of operation, so that WOW could cover lunch and dinner.”
Managers are also asking for help decorating the walls of the new wing joint.
“We want to ask student athletes to donate sports paraphernalia,” Richardson said. “To help create WOW’s sports bar theme.”
Though WOW continues to move steadily toward their opening, the memory of the fire-extinguisher vandalism remains. Management and Detective Butler urge anyone with information to contact Public Safety immediately.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 14 2008. Filed under News.
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