Astoria Taverna Briefly Shutters, Loses Business After Gas Check

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Dianna Loiselle, an Astoria restaurant owner, was starting to see the light at the end of the two-years-long tunnel that's been operating a restaurant during the pandemic. Then her gas was turned off for nearly a week, forcing her business back to square one.

The outage came on Friday, Jan. 21, when Loiselle had a weekend of reservations and a dining room full of customers at Telly's Taverna, the beloved family-owned Greek eatery that she runs on 29th Street.

A subcontractor hired by Con Edison told her there was a slight leak and shut off the gas mid-lunch service, promising that the restaurant could be up-and-running in a couple of hours, she told Patch. Telly's Taverna didn't reopen until the following Thursday — nearly a week later.

"I lost thousands of dollars and two employees," Loiselle said. "[My workers] thought we were closing like all the other places that are closing."

These "absolutely devastating" consequences are the result of what Loiselle sums up in one word: paperwork.

The inspector told her one thing, his boss another, and ConEd a third. "It was just a bunch of runaround circles," she said.

Finally, ABC7, which was the first outlet to report this story, contacted ConEd, which is what Loiselle thinks prompted the utility company to act. ConEd did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

Telly's Taverna has now reopened, but Loiselle says that after losing nearly a week of business, and contending with a snowstorm this weekend, she feels like she's back to an uphill battle.

Some neighborhood groups are organizing promotions to support the taverna, but Loiselle says she's still having a hard time staying optimistic — which usually comes easily to her.

"I like to color everything with sunshine, but it's just a rough time right now," she said. "The pandemic has already been a real struggle, and these little things just make it so much harder."