More than $8,000 worth of lobster tails, scallops and filet mignon is in the dumpster, but at least the caviar didn't go down the drain.

That was the price of Monday's storm for restaurant owner Mark Azaria, who was left without power until Wednesday afternoon.

The owner of Azarias Restaurant, near Royal York Rd. and Bloor St. W., had been struggling to keep food cold since the power went out.

Much of the food had been kept in coolers with ice-packed Ziploc bags. Power was restored around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, which was when Azaria could finally open the freezer to survey the damage.

“We lost everything that wasn't frozen,” Azaria said of the thawing and partially prepared food they keep to be ready for large crowds.

“All that pork, all that steak. We had to throw out pounds and pounds of calamari, shrimp, lobster tails.”

But at least he saved the $10,000 worth of sturgeon caviar, which sells for $150 a plate, and was nearing its expiration date in the freezer.

Azaria is one of 16,000 people who awoke without power Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Monday's historic storm. By the end of the day, nearly all had their power restored.

But for many residents, the damage had been done. Many people complained that, because Toronto Hydro never said how long the blackout could last, they weren't prepared to deal with its effects.

“I wish they would just say, ‘Look, it's out, and deal with it,' ” said Lori Clark, a real estate agent who sat on her porch Wednesday morning clutching a 50-year-old battery-powered radio and a BlackBerry, trying to keep in touch with clients using the phone she had to charge in her car.

But Toronto Hydro said that it, too, had been waiting for answers. The blackout was mainly caused by two flooded Hydro One transmission stations in Etobicoke that distribute power to the city's west end.

“I understand their frustration and I'm frustrated, too,” said Toronto Hydro spokeswoman Tanya Bruckmueller, before power was restored. “Unfortunately, it's beyond our control. We're waiting for Hydro One to provide an estimated time.”

A Hydro One spokeswoman said the damage could not be assessed until Tuesday morning, after crews worked overnight to ensure the site was safe. More than 300,000 gallons of water had to be pumped out first.

“We didn't have an estimated time of restoration because, in the first hours, we really had to work to determine the extent of damage,” said spokeswoman Denise Jamal. “This type of event can be challenging and we don't like to promise.”

On Wednesday at around 2:30 p.m., the company rerouted power from Manby and Richview stations to other stations in Toronto. Customers are still being asked to conserve electricity while stations are repaired.

Toronto Hydro said 600 customers were still without power as of Wednesday afternoon, but that it expected to complete the job later in the evening.

On Wednesday afternoon, after many residents had spent more than 40 hours without power, city staff opened cooling centres in Second Street Public School and Keele Recreation Centre. A small number of Red Cross volunteers did “wellness checks” at addresses given to them by the city after knocking on up to 400 doors the day before.

Many local businesses were shut down, including the Sherway Gardens mall in south Etobicoke. The biggest struggle Tuesday morning was contacting employees, said senior marketing director Lisa Resnic.

“We have hundreds of employees here each day. So how do we get in touch with them to tell them that the mall isn't open and they can't operate for business?”

Resnic says website updates and social media got the word out to most, but some never got the memo. Toronto Hydro said it had been doing its best to communicate with customers. The company posted frequent tweets and updates to its website and offered a 24/7 number to call.

But crisis management expert Allan Bonner said much more could have been done — from knocking on more doors to putting up old-fashioned signage.

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“Who's the genius that thought putting something on a web page, Twitter and Facebook would reach every demographic?” he asked. “It makes me angry, frankly. It's what you call ‘check-the-box' management.”

Once power was back Wednesday afternoon, Azaria called staff to come in and began a mad scramble to restock the items he'd tossed.

He lost almost $8,000 in sales because he closed before the dinner rush got started. He notes that the restaurant pays Toronto Hydro $2,500 a month.

“It doesn't seem like they care. That's what bothers me the most.”

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