HOULTON, Maine — The power outage that rocked much of Aroostook County Thursday, Dec. 17, forced multiple businesses to close early and lose revenue.
A disruption in the electrical transmission system from New Brunswick to Presque Isle caused a massive power outage for Versant, which led to customers on Houlton Water Company’s electrical service to also be affected. The outage stretched from Patten to Caribou.
Traffic lights, street lamps and most storefronts and homes were all in the dark, but it was not all doom and gloom. Some local businesses used a bit of creativity to remain open for business and enjoyed a surge in sales.
Tangs Chinese Cuisine in Houlton was one of the few establishments able to remain open during the six-plus-hour outage. Steven Deng said his restaurant was extremely busy with takeout requests during the outage.
“Business was slammed because people had no power at home to cook,” Deng said. “We were busy up until 8 p.m. with more than 40 orders.”
Deng said the restaurant was able to cook as the restaurant uses propane for its stoves. The kitchen staff had to use camp flashlights and headlamps to cook and pack the orders.
“Thanks much for all our customers being so patient in waiting for their orders,” he said.
In addition, Littleton Pit Stop saw a big spike in sales as their power was restored sooner than Houlton. Cars were lined up at the gas pumps and a large group of people were waiting to order hot food from the deli.
