A southwest Gainesville steak house had to evacuate about 80 people Tuesday afternoon after a gasoline leak occurred at a neighboring construction site.
Texas Roadhouse, 3830 SW Archer Road, was closed from about 12:40 p.m. to 4 p.m. while a Gainesville Regional Utilities crew replaced the leaking pipe.
Contractors were installing pathway lighting when they struck a gas line while drilling for the new Pollo Tropical that will share a parking lot with the steak house.
Greg Jasinski, Texas Roadhouse manager, said all of the kitchen equipment stopped working when the pipe burst. GRU and Gainesville Fire Rescue were called while restaurant customers and staff evacuated.
GFR Lt. Todd Ellis said even though a fire didn’t erupt, eight firefighters and a paramedic responded as a precaution.
Although the gas leak was contained to a 3-foot-deep hole, Ellis said if a fire were to occur, the hole would have functioned as a chimney, funneling out flames.
Shawn Smith, 42, a gas worker for GRU, said when the drill hit the gas line, dirt went into the pipe.
If the dirt had not been removed, it could have gotten into the kitchen appliances at the steak house, Smith said.
“That wouldn’t be good for steak, I imagine,” he said.
Contact Alexa Volland at avolland@alligator.org.
A gas worker for Gainesville Regional Utilities, digs around a broken gas line.
