Chef Tam’s warehouse suffers nearly $90K in damages after pipe bursts

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For Chef Tam, this is a busy time of year between holiday orders, feeding those in need, and other special events.

But the storefront on Union Avenue, where Chef Tam’s Underground Cade is located is only part of the business.

The other part is her warehouse in Whitehaven, where she keeps merchandise, shoots promos, and more.

It’s now been five days since a pipe burst inside, ruining some of those pots and pans and spices.

Owned by celebrity chef Tamra Patterson, the restaurant’s warehouse suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damage after a pipe burst over the weekend, causing it to flood.

“Our contractor has the physical damage at $57,000 and our product loss was right at $30,000,” Patterson said.

The chef said that the restaurant was feeding people experiencing homelessness on Christmas Eve when she got a text with the bad news.

“On Christmas Eve, we were at the restaurant feeding the homeless on Christmas Eve. While we were feeding the homeless, I got a text message from the gym doors down saying ‘I think your water heater just burst’,” she told FOX13 on a phone call.

Patterson said it could have been worse.

“I mean it’s bad,” she said. “It’s almost $100,000 worth of damage, but if the people at the gym wouldn’t have been in, it probably would’ve run until mid-this week.”

This week, she says they’ve had contractors and adjusters coming in and out to assess the damage.

Her son, Dorian Eddy, showed FOX13 crews some of that damage.

“It was bad to the point where the water was just running to the front so some of the wood floors are lifted and then some of the walls are damaged too at the base,” he said.

She said this will not impact the restaurant operations or menu for customers, but she’s thankful the person with a neighboring warehouse spoke up.

Some of the other items damaged were camera equipment, lighting, and the floors.