Power Returns To Shopping Center After Four Days

It took about four days but power has been restored to a busy Middletown shopping area.  

Electric service returned to Levittown’s Newport Plaza that houses Tony’s Meat Store and Dollar General, The Hidden Reef, and Citizens Bank late Tuesday afternoon after being out since last Friday’s nor’easter.

The storm knocked over several trees behind The Hidden Reef and took down power lines that connected to the stores. A contractor for PECO was at work to restore power service Tuesday afternoon.

Nearby, The Hidden Reef owner Ziggy Gutekunst was watching over his store that sells fish, reptiles, turtles, aquariums, and related supplies around 2 p.m. A group of generators that were powering critical systems were humming behind the business.

The Hidden Reef had been closed but staffed on 12-hour shifts since Friday to make sure generators remained powering some systems and to keep an eye on the massive business that once was a supermarket.

Gutekunst showed LevittownNow.com around the store. There were several fish who had died due to tank conditions caused by the lack of power. However, the majority of fish remained swimming in their tanks and seemed fine.

The Hidden Reef’s reptiles and turtles had been temporarily relocated to keep them safe, Gutekunst said.

At Tony’s Meat Store, customers walked up one-by-one only to find the front door locked and a note stating the store was closed due to the power outage.

As of Tuesday afternoon, about 120 customers in the Levittown area remained without electric service.

Forecasters released a warning that Wednesday’s storm will bring heavy snow and high winds to the area, leading to chances of power outages.