Businesses along closed Highway 6 suffering weeks after flooding

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's been three weeks since the historic Tax Day flood, and parts of Highway 6 are still flooded out. The highway is barricaded off south of Clay Road, and that's having a major impact on businesses along that heavily-used roadway.

El Rincon Paisa is a family-owned restaurant that serves up some of the tastiest Colombian flavors. But on what should be a busy Mother's Day, there are more empty tables than celebrating families.

"It's just been a difficult situation, especially that we're not getting enough business to compensate for the losses that we had," explained Carlos Betancur. His family owns the restaurant, and they were hit with a double whammy; their business flooded, and it's been a tough recovery because the highway is blocked off in front of their restaurant.

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They had to close for two weeks to recover from the flood damage, which cost thousands of dollars in repairs and spoiled food. Business has been slow since reopening.

"We even had to cut back on cooks and the hours we give to waiters because we don't have the business to keep that kind of payroll," he said.

Across the street, Bear Creek Park is still underwater and Highway 6 is submerged south of the strip center. Betancur worries what could happen if the highway is still blocked off for several more weeks.

"Honestly, we can't take any more than that because we might even have to close down because business is hard to keep up with."

You can access the businesses on Highway 6 south of Clay Road by taking Pine Forest Lane as a back route. Betancur says a lot of people may not know that option is open.