A Burnaby business owner is fed up with the City of Burnaby after months of jumping through hoops to open his tea shop.
Chris Roller has been trying to open his Mad Hatterz Tea House in Lougheed Village. He aimed to open in December, but he said he’s been in a lengthy back-and-forth with the city over the building’s plumbing.
“I went to get my plumbing permit and that’s when everything started to fall apart,” he told the NOW.
Because he opted not to install a dishwasher, Roller said he was told he’d have to upgrade his pipes from 1.5-inch diameter to two-inch diameter to allow for a three-basin sink, a requirement for food establishments without dishwashers. However, if he had a dishwasher, he would be allowed to install a two-basin sink on the existing pipe.
He tried to negotiate the city, but he says they wouldn’t budge.
“No grandfathering, no exceptions, no waivers,” he said. “I know there are exemptions out there… but of course, the Burnaby plumbing inspector is being very obstinate about that.”
John Cusano of the city’s planning and building department said the need for two-inch pipe on a three-basin sink is a requirement of Fraser Health, not the city.
“We don’t enforce or determine what’s required in terms of handling food – that’s strictly a Fraser Health responsibility,” he said, adding that the wider pipe is needed to handle to large quantities of liquid.
“Because of the potential volume of water that would flow from those sinks, you would have to upgrade from 1.5-inch pipe to a two-inch pipe,” he said.
But here’s the kicker, according to Roller: The two-basin sink, which can be installed on 1.5-inch pipe, has more water capacity and greater flow output than the three-basin sink.
“It’s absolutely mindboggling,” said Roller.
Perhaps most aggravating for Roller is how much dealing with the city has cost him: Between the lease, maintenance fees, licences and paying his employees minimum wage, he said he’s spent nearly $25,000.
“The more we’re being delayed… the more of that money that we’re hemorrhaging out to absolutely no cause,” he said. “That money is just evaporating away.”
Roller said he hopes to open his doors by the end of the month, but may require some financial assistance. He’s considering starting a Kickstarter campaign if he can’t gather up the funds himself.
For more information on when Mad Hatterz Tea House will open, or to see if a Kickstarter has been made, check facebook.com/MadHatterzTea.
