For the second time in four years, Allie-Allison Petrus is closing the doors on a restaurant enterprise because of what the former senator says is mainly the high cost of power.
The Subway and Flava restaurants, which opened in 2010 at Market Square, will see their last day Tuesday. Petrus expressed sadness at the closures. "We delayed closing the restaurants in consideration for our employees, but the decision had to be made."
Speaking Wednesday, Petrus said the ongoing construction at Market Square was one consideration, but not the main one. "Since the construction began about a year ago, we have been struggling to meet monthly obligations, such as a $5,000 per month WAPA bill and other expenses."
Petrus said he is not optimistic about the territory’s immediate economic future. He emphasized , "It’s been four years since I closed IHOP and it’s sad to see that the WAPA issue has yet to be at the top of our priority list. If we correct the WAPA issue, most of the problems we are experiencing in our economy will correct themselves.”
Asked what an immediate solution for the Water and Power Authority’s financial woes might be, Petrus said, "The dependency on oil makes it difficult for any major improvement to power. I’m not an expert, but WAPA needs to get an answer, or else one by one, our businesses will drop off and ruin our tax base."
He said candidly that he hadn’t studied Alpine Energy Group’s proposal for an alternative power source, which the government rejected in February, enough to have an opinion on it.
Petrus was one of six senators who voted to allow Southern Energy’s bid to buy 80 percent of WAPA in 2000. Southern Energy’s international parent company, Southern Company, has $55 billion in assets through regional utilities and operations worldwide.
Petrus still owns Subway franchises at Red Hook, Nisky Center and Buccaneer Mall, where he said there was sufficient traffic to cover expenses. He also owns Petrus Gas (PG) on Veterans Drive, which he says is doing well.
