UPDATE SEPT. 12: The recovery could take months for a popular local restaurant after a summer storm dumped rain through a leaky roof.
Contact 13 visited Lotus of Siam located near Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway Tuesday.
Fans are scattered throughout the restaurant to help dry the floor our after Friday’s rain.
The leaky roof caused most of the ceiling tiles to cave in, spilling water and debris everywhere. You can see the light from the outside through the ceiling.
“Yeah, it's like I can watch the moon. I have a moonroof," said Penny Chutima with Lotus of Siam.
Chutima said the damage was caused because cracks in the roof allowed the water to trickle down. The interior of the restaurant is mostly covered by black tarps.
Building inspectors and insurance adjusters are still assessing the damage while the final costs for the storm damage are still being calculated.
For Chutima and her family-owned business, part of their focus is on why the damage happened in the first place.
“Of course, I speak to him, I text him I sent him pictures saying hey what's going on, can we coordinate on this?” said Chutima.
Contact 13 reached out to the landlord. Calls to a California number were not returned.
Chutima said the restaurant had been warning the landlord since 2010 that roof repairs were needed and that a catastrophic flood incident might happen.
While the restaurant sorts of the issues with the landlord, they are cleaning up the mess themselves.
Chutima said, ideally, the restaurant could reopen on Nov. 1, in time for the 19th anniversary of their opening.
Realistically, the repair timeline could take up to 4 months.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- Rain is causing a mess for a popular Las Vegas restaurant near Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue.
Lotus of Siam has been forced to close on Friday because of a leaky roof. A video on their Facebook page showed roof panels collapsing, which dumped water into the building.
The restaurant captioned the video, "This is when a landlord doesn't listen to you..."
Crews are working to repair the damage, which has extended from the kitchen to the main and private dining rooms, as well as the storage space. Management estimates that it'll take seven days to fix everything. They don't have an estimate yet on how much repairs will cost.
Customers inside the restaurant were not hurt when the roof panels collapsed.
