Business owners show resolve after Natick fire

Jul. 27--NATICK -- Nancy Kelley is determined to rebuild her business.

She lost her dance studio, which operated from 7 Pond St. for 35 years until Monday's fire destroyed eight businesses on one downtown block. Fire Chief Mike Lentini told the Daily News last week that the source is "undetermined," and may never be known.

"I'm getting there. I will find another place," Kelley said.

Kelley prefers to stay in Natick, despite saying that rents are expensive. Jill Hourihan also wants to stay in town.

"I don't want to go anyplace else," said Hourihan, owner of Metro Pets, another of the businesses destroyed in Monday's blaze. "(Natick Center) gives me a place and a community. I want to be with my people."

Some know what Kelley and Hourihan are going through, because the circumstances are eerily similar.

An overnight fire on March 11, 2017, wiped out 10 businesses at the Old Path Village strip mall on Concord Street in Framingham.

"(The Natick fire) hits a little too close to home," said Robert Barish, who lost his business in that fire.

Barish owns Wicked Chronic, a boutique-style shop that sells counter-culture products, including cannabis accessories. Now on Rte. 9 in Natick, it took Barish less than four months to land there after the Old Path Village fire.

Barish is one of several former tenants at Old Path Village who were willing to provide advice to Natick fire victims.

One suggested step to take is to hire an accountant to help get the maximum payout from insurance companies when filing damage claims.

"(Accountants) work for us. (Insurance companies) don't want to give you money," Barish said.

Kelley started teaching dance classes in Natick 45 years ago, when "nobody had insurance," she said. She said she has a lot of liability coverage, but her personal property coverage is slim.

"I have some personal property coverage, thank God for that," Kelley said.

Hourihan said she is already working with an accountant.

Barish offered other tips: Assess your desire to keep going, and if the decision is to march ahead, start looking for a new location right away; reach out to state lawmakers who represent Natick, or whichever town you're thinking of relocating to, in order to expedite getting permits and licenses; and find a new landlord with compassion, which could result in a flexible lease. Such a deal could open the door for moving back to the original location of the business after the area is rebuilt.

On Friday, some business owners met with state Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick; Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland; state Sen. Becca Rausch, D-Needham; and other state officials to discuss access to resources and counseling.

"They were very proactive taking up our cause, and trying to take care of us," said Hourihan.

Barish had one other piece of advice: Form a private Facebook page so businesses can share information, such as contacts for accountants.

"That's a wonderful idea," Kelley said. "We're all in the same boat, and when someone is hurting, we can rally for them."

Karen Fiore owns J&M Diner on Rte. 9 in Framingham. Like Barish, she lost her business in the Old Path Village fire, and it took eight months to fix up her new space before reopening.

Fiore suggested that Natick merchants ask themselves questions. Do you still love what you do? How can I make a living? And where am I in life, in terms of age and energy?

Honest answers, Fiore said, should clarify a path forward.

"It's like déj... vu," added Lisa Cabral, who lost her cosmetics business in the 2017 Framingham fire. Five months later, she opened LisaKen Salon & Spa and Merle Norman Cosmetics on Rte. 9 in Southborough.

Like Barish, Cabaral said it's important to hire someone to fight with the insurance companies. Cabral discovered she didn't have enough insurance, so she lost money. But, she got some she didn't expect after hiring a private adjuster.

The bottom line for Cabaral was to think positive, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

"Everything will fall into place," she said. "Before, we rented. Now we have a lease to buy, and a bigger spot. In the long run, we came out better."

Hourihan is a believer in thinking positive. She spends part of every day since Monday's fire talking with friends about the positive energy in Natick.

She and others channeled those positive vibes to erect an artistic banner Thursday on the Natick Common, right across from her burned-down business. It says, "We Burn Brighter."

"If we can take this energy and make something beautiful out of it, then why not?" Hourihan asked.

Kelley prefers to keep Monday's fire in perspective.

"Horrific event" is how she describes it, not a tragedy.

A real tragedy, she said, occurred when a drunk driver killed her brother, Arthur Kelley, and his fiancée in 1985.

"My dance studio was in the same spot for 35 years, and I still live in Natick, in the same house I grew up in," Kelley said. "Natick comes together."

Henry Schwan is the health reporter for the MetroWest Daily News. Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymetrowest. He can be reached at [email protected] or 508-626-3964.

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