In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, Houston’s food-and-beverage industry has been significantly impacted by ongoing power outages. Some operators have resorted to parking lot pop-ups and other quick fixes to pay their rent and staff. Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, who suffered his own Beryl-related loss, is spearheading a class action lawsuit against CenterPoint Energy on behalf of several Houston restaurants.
Buzbee announced on Instagram that his firm is filing the lawsuit due to CenterPoint’s repeated failures to “do what any reasonable and competent electricity provider would do and should do.” He stated that the restaurants involved, some of the most celebrated and revered in the Houston Galveston area, have lost substantial time and money due to “negligence and gross negligence,” including inadequate equipment maintenance, insufficient personnel training, and a lack of a competent storm plan.
“All of the restaurants suing lost power initially as a result of Hurricane Beryl, but that loss inexplicably continued due to the incompetence and utter dereliction of CenterPoint Energy,” Buzbee said. “The problems at CenterPoint continue, and likely will continue, despite the accusations and condemnation from all levels of government. The restaurants filing this case, and the class of plaintiffs they seek to represent, are fed up. None of us in this area has a choice as to who provides us electricity.”
Highlighting CenterPoint’s 2023 profits of $6.54 billion and its monopoly in the Houston area, Buzbee emphasized that the lawsuit aims to compel CenterPoint to improve its services. “This lawsuit is being filed not for the want of money, but to force CenterPoint in court to do what the administrative, legislative, and executive system has failed to require.”
Restaurant owners, such as Ryan Lachaine of Riel Restaurant in Montrose, have voiced their frustration. Lachaine’s business was without power for a week, leaving his 20 employees unable to work. “Restaurants are difficult at the best of times, and when something like this happens, it is absolutely devastating,” Lachaine said. “We all knew this was going to happen, something was going to happen. And it’s kind of frustrating when we’re supposed to be ready all the time, and hunker down or do this or do that, and when it comes time for someone else to do their job, nobody’s ready.”
Robin Wong, owner of Luloo’s in Garden Oaks, echoed this sentiment. “Being a city that’s as large as Houston is, we can’t keep having these problems. It needs to be fixed,” Wong said. “Losing power in these storms just long enough to lose all the food in your walk-in is just enough to where you have to start over.”
Buzbee explained that the lawsuit will focus on restaurants that have been in business for over a year and lost power for at least 48 hours. “CenterPoint doesn’t know their grid,” Buzbee said. “They have clearly not invested in infrastructure to prevent things like this.”
The restaurateurs involved stress that they are not seeking a handout but can no longer endure the status quo without speaking out. “Being a small business owner,” Lachaine added, “we’re kind of sick of being pushed around.”
ABC13 has reached out to CenterPoint for a response to these claims and will update the story once the company responds. Buzbee mentioned that a file-stamped copy of the lawsuit will be distributed publicly once available.
