Lunch service begins. Under light rays of sunshine, customers sit on the terrace this Friday. Everyone is ready to enjoy this return to normal. For nearly three months, the Rowing restaurant, on the Ile du Ramier in Toulouse, was closed. The institution had taken on the appearance of building sites.
Mud and water remained after the flooding of the Garonne had forced the Rowing to carry out some renovations.

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On January 10, the river came out of its bed. The establishment, on the banks of the Garonne, had to face a rise in water levels which had not been observed since 2000 in the city. Furniture and other equipment were destroyed or taken away. The adjacent tennis courts also had to close for more than a month. “The first three weeks, we saved the damage. Then, we had to dry out the walls before tackling the work so that the restaurant could reopen identically,” says Félix Metz, the co-manager.

350,000 euros in damages

He assures that the reopening of the Rowing could have been longer and more complex. “The disaster was classified as a natural disaster, which allowed us to be covered by insurance. Without that, we might not have reopened at all.

The establishment would have had difficulty assuming the consequent damage caused by the raging waters on its own. Nearly 350,000 euros of work were necessary to restore the restaurant to its original condition. The 600 m2 of terrace are new functional to receive new customers in an idyllic setting. “We are super happy to find our customers and especially to have been able to reopen identically as soon as possible”, continues the co-manager. .

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If the traces of the last floods have now been erased, the future remains uncertain. The establishment is in the middle of a flood zone. “We cannot build or build anything. We prefer not to think of a next disaster scenario ”, slips Félix Metz. Rowing is making a big comeback at the same time as the sunny days!