Biscuit Company Cafe owner, Sandy Pearman, right, shares some emotional words with employees, from left, Jessica Walley, Robert Pettis, Angie Carley and Derrick Manning Wednesday. (C. Todd Sherman The Vicksburg Post)

[7/10/2003]Cleon Shelby was trying to cook for customers when he saw brown sludge oozing out of the walls and light fixtures.

“It was sewage and water coming through the walls,” said Shelby, a cook at The Biscuit Company Cafe, 1100 Washington St.

The downtown Vicksburg restaurant and bar has closed indefinitely after what has been described as mud and sewage seeped through walls and light fixtures during a heavy rain July 3.

The owner, Sandy Pearman, said the muck covered the floor, bathrooms, coolers and liquor-storage room.

The restaurant’s kitchen and other sections are below Washington Street and on a hillside facing Grove Street, where the City of Vicksburg has had part of the street torn up in a $5.6 million urban renewal project.

Pearman, Vicksburg attorney Lee Thames and the building’s owner, architect S.J. “Skippy” Tuminello, have said the construction work is the cause of the problems at The Biscuit Company.

Vicksburg Public Works Director Bubba Rainer said he knew of water going into the restaurant but wasn’t aware of other problems. He said he met with engineers Tuesday, but wouldn’t comment further.

Tim Temple, project manager for Hemphill Construction, the Florence-based contractor, referred questions to the project engineer, Neel Schaffer Inc. of Jackson, and the City of Vicksburg.

City Attorney Nancy Thomas said it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to comment.

Calls to Neel Schaffer Inc. were not returned.

Mayor Laurence Leyens said he is aware of the problems and plans to meet with Neel Schaffer representatives Tuesday, but said the city is not liable for damage to any business.

He said water draining into inlets made on the sides of the street probably caused the problem.

Thames, one of the two attorneys with whom Pearman has discussed the case, said the city is ultimately responsible for the cleanup and lost business.

“(The Biscuit Company) had big plans for July fourth,” Thames said. “It was a complete loss for them, one of the biggest weekends of the year.”

Pearman said the building has had similar problems since February but never as severe. In the past, the restaurant closed for up to a month.

“Our business was really coming back,” said Pearman, who has owed the restaurant for about six years. “That’s the reason it’s so devastating. Now I have no business, no employees and no customers.”

Celeste Tillotson, owner of Griz Old-Tyme Photography, 1100 Washington St., said she found mud and water at the front door of her business Friday, but nothing like the damage at The Biscuit Company, which is in the basement of the same building. She said the water was flowing down both sides of Washington Street.

“The orange barrels out there were floating,” she said.

On Wednesday afternoon, about 10 of the Biscuit Company’s 15 full-time employees picked up their last paychecks.

“This just isn’t a workplace,” server and bartender Jessica Walley said, her face red and eyes watering . “It’s our home.”