Renton Chamber offers free food storage for local businesses affected by power outages

Restaurants, businesses and food service providers can securely store their food starting the evening of Nov. 22.

By Bailey Josie • November 22, 2024 3:41 pm
Power outage map from Puget Sound Energy for the Renton area as of 3:45 p.m. Friday, Nov 22. (Screenshot)
Power outage map from Puget Sound Energy for the Renton area as of 3:45 p.m. Friday, Nov 22. (Screenshot)

The Renton Chamber of Commerce and Alteza Commercial Restaurant Supply have partnered to provide a space for temporary cold storage, which is available Friday evening for local food businesses at no cost.

According to an email from the Chamber, 10 commercial freezers were delivered to 625 South 4th Street in Renton on Nov. 22. The lockable freezers are available for restaurants, businesses and food service providers to store their food securely.

“This latest power outage has caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and product loss, not to mention the revenue lost from customers and sales. These losses will likely go unrecovered by insurance, as this type of event—an act of nature—is difficult to insure against,” said Chamber CEO Diane Dobson. “Compounding this is the current insurance climate, where providers are dropping clients at alarming rates and premiums are skyrocketing. This is a burden many restaurants simply cannot afford to bear.”

To use the freezers, the Chamber asks that organizations provide the best points of contact, including name, phone number and email address to diane@gorenton.com or by calling 425-226-4560 or 425-890-9176.

“This generous offering is made possible by Daniel and his team at Alteza Commercial Restaurant Supply, who have covered the labor and expenses to bring these freezers to us. When it’s time to express gratitude, we hope you’ll join us in thanking them for their incredible support of our community,” said Dobson in an email.

For more information on the Renton Chamber of Commerce, visit gorenton.com.

Bomb cyclone

Wide regions of Renton have no power after a “bomb cyclone” storm system struck the West Coast on Nov. 19, damaging property, blocking roadways, and leaving a King County woman dead.

According to Puget Sound Energy, as of 5:20 a.m. Nov. 20, the West Coast storm left 416,488 PSE customers without power.

The city has opened the Renton Community Center as a warming location, with Wi-Fi available for residents experiencing power outages.

To see Puget Sound Energy’s latest power outage map, click here.