Imagine spending months renovating and preparing for the grand opening of a new restaurant, only for disaster to strike?!
That is exactly what happened earlier this month at Big Way Hot Pot’s new Lougheed location.
On August 17, the popular hot pot chain celebrated the grand opening of its first location at the City of Lougheed Centre in Burnaby.
But as the dinner crowd filled the space at 6 pm, sprinklers suddenly activated, drenching both the dining room and kitchen with water.
A video that surfaced on TikTok shows staff scooping up water into a trash bin while firefighters inspected the kitchen for issues.
@jack.reach8 fire broke in vancouver store #vancouver#burnabybc#mall#surrey ♬ original sound – jack reach
That evening, Big Way confirmed on Instagram that the Lougheed restaurant would close early due to the sprinkler malfunction.
What was meant to be a night of celebration quickly turned into an unexpected flood.
Speaking with Noms Magazine, the Big Way Hot Pot team explained that the sprinkler activation was the result of a malfunction in the building’s sprinkler head and was not connected to their operations.
Thankfully, the damage was minimal and the team managed to clean up quickly, reopening the restaurant the very next day without any further issues.
“We’re grateful for the community’s support through it all and are excited to move forward with our new location and the upcoming Gilmore opening,” the team shared.
The Lougheed location resumed their grand opening celebration on Aug 21st, offering Labubu giveaways and more – without trouble.
This opening continues Big Way Hot Pot’s expansion across Metro Vancouver, with the next Brentwood Gilmore location set to open in September.
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Address: 3778 Grande Prom. #450, Burnaby, BC V3J 1N4