Flooding in Venice didn’t stop this restaurant from serving pizza

Venice is currently experiencing the worst flooding it’s seen in a decade, but one restaurant refuses to let the knee-high water impact business.

As the city begins to recover from the intense storms that recently hit Italy, killing several people, the restaurant in Venice has its doors open and is serving anyone daring enough to venture out into the flood.

A video, shared to Simone Sciascia‘s Facebook page on Monday, shows staff carrying pizzas to serve customers like it’s just another day at work.

Servers are seen wading through the flooded restaurant where diners are sitting at tables enjoying their food. And nearly everyone is wearing tall protective rain boots of some sort. Now that’s dedication.

The end of the video offers a look at the streets of Venice, which still remain significantly flooded. 

Nearly 80 percent of the city was flooded after water levels rose an estimated 160 centimeters (5 feet, 3 inches) above sea level during the storms. And along with streets and local businesses, noteworthy areas and historical landmarks like St. Mark’s Square, the Rialto bridge, the Piazza San Marco, and more, have been impacted by the floods.

Though flooding is common throughout Italy — especially as winter nears and winds carry water from the Adriatic Sea into the Venetian Lagoon — this level of water is the worst Venice has experienced since 1979.

As noted in an earlier article, Italy now experiences major flooding every four years or so, which means people have started taking necessary precautions to deal with the water ahead of time. 

These include barriers placed in front of houses, and raised walkways and additional drains added around the city.

As Venice’s 5-foot tide continues to drop throughout the course of the week, we’re sure more and more restaurants will start re-opening their doors. But for now, the video shows quite a rare and remarkable sight.