Gas Break at Great Mall Delays Dinner

A gas pipe damaged around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday at a Great Mall loading dock delayed food court vendors preparing for the dinner rush.

Most vendors, including  and Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen had lines by 5:30 p.m., while some like  were still waiting while PG&E crews worked to repair the pipe.

An employee backed into the gas meters with a go-cart, said Michael Salas, a truck driver who witnessed it happen.

"There was a big old hissing noise," he said, "and you could smell it," he said.

Salas said the police were first on the scene and then the fire department shut off the gas.

There was no evacuation of the mall, said Cristina Robles, marketing manager of the Great Mall. With the exception of a few food court operators, the mall remained open with a green light from Milpitas Fire Department.

"I hope they fix it soon," said Helen Leong, owner of . Short of the kebabs and gyros, they were selling drinks.

Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen one of the first to get their gas back. By 5:30 p.m. they had hot dinner prepared and ready to go.

Orion Zemene, franchisee, said, "I don't blame anybody. You know what? Accidents happen."

"The good thing is I'm glad it happened after lunch," he said. The dinner crowd is not as large as the lunch crowd.

There was one vendor who profited when the gas was shut off. With an electric griller and fryer,  continued to sell food. 

"We were so busy the whole day because we didn't have to worry about [gas]," said Manager Dani Peterson.