While many restaurants on the south side of Grand Prairie closed their doors on September 4 due to water supply concerns, Marco’s Pizza remained open by taking creative measures to keep business running.
Located at 815 Mayfield Road, the Marco’s Pizza franchise was close to an area marked by city officials as at risk of water contamination from a foaming agent. To maintain operations, the restaurant brought in water and dough from other Marco’s locations to handle essential tasks like washing hands and vegetables.
Derek Buie, district manager of Marco’s Pizza, described the efforts taken to stay open: “I’m based in Bedford, so I picked up supplies there and brought them over this morning. We also got help from our stores in Arlington and Cedar Hill, sending products here to keep everything running smoothly.”
Buie emphasized that it was a team effort to get the store up and operating under these unusual circumstances. Employees wore gloves throughout their shifts and refrained from washing dishes until safe water became available.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to do something like this,” Buie said, noting that during past storms, Marco’s locations had shared resources to keep stores operational. Despite the unusual setup, no city officials had yet visited the restaurant to check their procedures as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We were expecting someone from the city, but no one has come yet. If they do, we’re ready,” Buie added. “We’re using gloves, sanitizer buckets, and water brought from other locations to make it work.”
Though many businesses nearby remained closed, Marco’s Pizza’s proactive measures allowed them to continue serving customers despite the water issues affecting the area.