Skiatook Lake Restaurant Works To Reopen After Flooding

The historic flooding has brought many businesses to a standstill, leaving some people without paychecks.

News On 6 went to Skiatook lake where neighbors have chipped in to help workers at a marina restaurant. The good news is the water levels are dropping here the lake but the water is still covering the parking lot of the Lakeside Grill.

Owner Christina Baker said her employees rushed to put out sandbags and keep the water away from the restaurant, but it was too much to handle.

"We came up and it was ankle deep in the restaurant and the very next day, it's over knee deep. We were between 2 to 2.5 feet in," said Baker.

A few weeks later, the restaurant is still drying out and a lot of the sheetrock was cut. Baker said it's hard to say when they'll reopen and that's especially frustrating for the 14 people who work here.

"It kills me for my employees because a lot of them do live paycheck to paycheck and it's very hard to know there's nothing I can do," said Baker.

Things are looking up around the rest of CrossTimbers Marina. General manager Hank Spencer said boat and cottage rentals are back up and running and you won't have a hard time catching a few fish.

"Fishing is awesome. The guides that run out of our marina right now are catching their daily limits within about two hours."

Baker said Lakeside Grill will be back and she's thankful for neighbors who helped her staff get paid over Memorial Day Weekend and a nearby bar that held a benefit last weekend for the restaurant.

"We definitely want to do a customer appreciation event just to thank all the people that have supported us and stuck out there with us and know that we're here for them. This is why we do what we do," said Baker.