Water woes force market's closure

SANDPOINT - In yet another cold weather related incident, bursting pipes and water damage forced the Cedar Street Bridge Market to shut its doors during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

Owner John Gillham said several pipes in the market's fire sprinkler suppression system burst Sunday, causing minor water damage and rendering the fire system unusable.

The entire market will be shut down while workers replace damaged Sheetrock, repair damaged pipes and bring the fire system up to legal safety standards, Gillham said.

"If you walk in there it really doesn't look that bad, but we just can't have the public in there without the fire system working," Gillham said.

The market could be closed for as long as two weeks, though Gillham hopes to be open sooner.

The closure could not have happened at a worse time, as many market tenants were looking to make up for a slow fall shopping season with strong pre-Christmas sales.

Even before the pipes burst, many businesses at the market reported worse-than-expected sales figures and infrequent foot traffic on the bridge.

Pradeep Shrestha, owner of Where the Wind Blows in the market, said his home decor and gift business has been struggling for months.

"It's been very, very slow," Shrestha said last week, before the closure. "Summer wasn't that good either, definitely not as good as last year."

The market joins a long list of businesses, homes and public facilities that have recently been affected by frozen pipes. In the past week, Sandpoint City Hall, the Selkirk Lodge on Schweitzer Mountain and Luther Park senior community, among many others, reported malfunctioning pipes.

Gillham said all damages will be covered by insurance.