Monroeville businesses evacuated due to possible sinkhole

MONROEVILLE, Pa. — A Monroeville strip mall was evacuated Monday due to a possible sinkhole.

Yellow caution tape surrounds the building on Northern Pike and signs on the businesses that say "temporarily closed."

It started when employees and customers heard crackling this morning and saw cracks appear in the walls.

"We were getting ready for the lunch rush, and a guy ran in and said something about the building maybe sinking 3 feet," Ty Mathews said. "A little nerve-racking, not too scary. Was just hoping that building didn't sink on us while we were cooking. We had customers in there, too; they looked like they were concerned."

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The building inspector and other safety officials went inside the Wine and Spirits Store, Five Guys Burgers and Fries and an orthodontist's office to take pictures and determine how much the building had shifted.

Those businesses were evacuated around lunchtime Monday.

Channel 11 confirmed that Cozza Enterprises owns the building and they must have it inspected before it can reopen.

Safety officials said there are cracks on the walls and they believe it's from mine subsidence.

There is no word yet on how long the building will stay closed.

A worker at one of the businesses said this also happened about a year ago.

"We closed down because they said that we were sinking and there were cracks in the buildings, and that was for a couple of months. Then, after that, we opened back up," Mathews said.

Cox Media Group