(PRESS RELEASE) ATLANTA – LUCKY & LADY, Atlanta’s leader in innovative pet care, urgently announces its temporary closure due to substantial damage caused by flooding. A broken water line within the AMC theater sent water throughout building 800 at the new Madison Yards development, home of the most technologically advanced pet care facility in Atlanta. The event damaged all businesses in the building.
The water caused substantial damage to LUCKY & LADY’s advanced air purification systems, noise elimination fixtures and to interior walls. Restoration crews arrived within an hour and work to mitigate and assess damage was underway by Tuesday afternoon. Early estimates put repairs at four to six weeks, though the true scope of damage is only being realized. Electricity was restored to the building Thursday afternoon.
LUCKY & LADY team members first noticed the water entering the 6,000 square foot pet space in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 28.
“I got the call and I was there in minutes,” said Ryan Deal, president of LUCKY & LADY. “There was water. Then more water. And more water.”
Deal called 9-1-1 as team members began implementing emergency procedures. No pets had yet arrived for the day.
Based on the amount of water cascading down from the mezzanine level of the theater, firefighters told LUCKY & LADY the leak could have gone unnoticed for days, allowing the water to gather and eventually flow downward from the theater. AMC closed nationwide in March as the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread. It’s unclear whether AMC was checking the theater regularly.
“We got kicked when we were already down,” Deal said.
LUCKY & LADY had just re-opened the day before the water event, having closed in mid-March amid urgent social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus outbreak. The locally-owned small business had already forecast a loss in revenues, but operators were intent on preserving team members’ paychecks while also helping responders to COVID-19. Launched last week, the Front Liners First program was to provide no-cost Beyond Boarding (overnight pet care) services for those on the front lines in the battle against coronavirus.
“We had done everything we could. We were positioned to really help. And then the water came in,” Deal said. “We need to get that feeling back. Dogs and cats keep us grounded. They keep life in perspective.”
“We’re sad. We’re sorry. We’ll be back.”