My restaurant lost power for 8 days after a storm and lost $19K in sales. The blackout in Gary, Indiana, is still going.

Joslyn Kelly's J's Breakfast Club in Gary, Indiana lost power for over a week following a derecho storm. This outage resulted in a 90% loss in sales, totaling approximately $19,000. The storm hit on August 11, and as of Thursday, more than 57,000 utility customers were still without power. Upon the storm's arrival, power went out around noon, leaving staff and customers in the dark.

The situation escalated quickly, with chairs and tables falling during the storm, causing concern for Kelly's husband, who worked outside. Power was restored on August 20, nearly a week after the initial outage. Kelly's business faced significant challenges, including the loss of a large portion of its revenue and the necessity to adapt to the changing circumstances.

Despite the difficulties, Kelly remained focused on meeting her obligations and finding ways to serve the community, even setting up temporary operations outside her building. Looking ahead, Kelly hopes this experience will serve as a wake-up call for better infrastructure development and maintenance in Gary, with the goal of improving the community's resilience for future storms.