Atlanta meadery owner says burglars caused tens of thousands in damage

ATLANTA - A northeast Atlanta business owner says burglars caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to his meadery after they cut copper pipes upstairs, leading to flooding.

What they're saying:

Justin Schoendorf, the owner of Monks Meadery, said the taproom along North Highland Avenue will likely be closed for weeks after last Wednesday's break-in.
 
"Our furniture got waterlogged," he said. "We shorted out the cameras. We shorted out the coolers. We've shorted out all sorts of different things with the amount of water that was in the building."
 
Schoendorf said burglars broke a sliding glass door on the building's top floor on Feb. 11 before they made their way to the main level, where they ripped out two sections of copper pipe.
 
"The building above us is under construction, so they're building out a new space," he said. "Those pipes were live, and so basically, they were pumping water into the building for hours upon hours."
 
Schoendorf estimates the flooding caused "probably north of $20,000 to $30,000" of damage to the building.
 
He said his landlord has hired a full-service mitigation company to help with the cleanup.

What we don't know:

Schoendorf said he does not know what his insurance may cover.
 
"I have a deductible, so I would hope that I'm not out of pocket for anything beyond the deductible, but again, I truly have never dealt with this before," he said.

What's next:

Schoendorf said the business is looking to clean up the damage and reopen as soon as possible.
 
"I'm hoping we can build back better, right? Like, we're going to try and put things back a little bit, so I'm optimistic that we're going to work on some kinks, but today, this stinks," he said.
 
The meadery hopes to reopen the taproom in a few weeks. They also hope to fulfill online orders at the taproom soon.