Mango Grove, Indian restaurant in Columbia destroyed by 2019 explosion, reopens Monday with carryout and delivery

McKenna Oxenden, Howard County Times, Columbia, Md.
·1 min read

Apr. 19—More than a year and a half after a gas explosion at a Columbia shopping center shuttered several businesses, an Indian restaurant is set to reopen Monday.

Mango Grove, an Indian restaurant, said on Facebook on Sunday that it plans to reopen at noon with carryout and delivery. The restaurant plans to offer dine-in options in the coming weeks. Orders can be placed on the phone and through Grubhub and DoorDash.

"Our Heart felt Gratitude for all the good wishes and hard work from everyone who helped us reach here," the restaurant wrote in the post.

In August 2019, a natural gas explosion decimated the Lakeside Office building in the 8800 block of Stanford Blvd. No one was injured in the blast, but the 22 businesses in the center suffered various levels of damage.

An August 2020 report by the engineering division of the Public Service Commission of Maryland pointed to problems with inadequate separation of underground gas and electric services by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.

And in January of this year, Maryland fined BGE more than $437,000 for safety violations that caused the explosion and ordered the utility to follow through on plans to upgrade gas lines at more than 1,250 buildings to prevent similar accidents in the future.