Coffey Park businesses still feeling impacts from October wildfires
But after losing his
Revenues from his
A greater challenge, Burns said, involves working in the midst of a neighborhood where flames consumed more than 1,200 homes and at least a dozen businesses.
"It reminds me of it every two seconds," he said of his store's proximity to the destruction. "That's what gets to be a little tough after a while."
The tract subdivisions of
Bill's Market, which sits on Hopper a few doors down from Mail & More, is considered a corner grocery store, said
Before their home burned, Okrepkie and his wife, Stephanie, used to go for dinner near the market at
"It's something that contributes to the sense of neighborhood or community," he said of the range of local merchants.
At the small shopping center on Hopper, four of the owners or workers lost homes in the fires. In the early hours of the disaster, many of its business people worried the flames had claimed their shops and restaurants.
Burns, whose neatly trimmed beard has grown a little grayer during 27 years at the center, manages the property and has an interest in it with his family. On the morning of the fire, he was unable to save his home on
For the next 15 hours he worked with a neighbor and family members, spraying down the center's flat roofs and pouring 5-gallon buckets of water on smoldering bark chips in landscaping across the street. Other store owners at the center credited those steps with keeping their businesses safe.
The fire jumped the freeway and burned along the north side of Hopper, damaging or destroying restaurants, a storage unit facility and an apartment complex before spreading into the single-family homes of
The destruction, while hit and miss, also extended south down
After the fires, businesses near
"In the beginning I was so scared," recalled
Surprisingly business has remained fairly good, the Jolivettes said. They credited two "shout outs" by local radio station KZST with helping to draw patrons to the restaurant during slow times in the weeks after the fires.
However, more common were retailers reporting a drop in customers. Among them is Luigi's, which sits across the parking lot from Mel's. Its once-healthy dinner business has taken a decided dip.
"At night here, it's dead," said
Waitress
"Once they start building, we'll get some business. But it's not happening fast enough," said Beaumont, who lost her
In terms of economic impact,
"Those businesses have lined themselves up against those neighborhoods that now no longer exist," he said.
Besides the mixed financial results, business owners and staff noted the fires caused customers to congregate and share their stories at pubs and eateries.
"We were really strong that last three months of the year," said
However, listening to the stories of those who lost their homes often proved emotionally taxing.
"It's just brutal," said
Businesspeople also reported ways the fires have exacerbated existing problems, not only for them but for a range of companies beyond northwest
Also, Hunt said, he wants this year to undertake improvements at the brewery, but some of the recent bids for asphalt or concrete work are "phenomenally high."
He attributed those eye-opening numbers partly to the competition for contractors by residents and businesses who want to rebuild after the fire.
Even so, Hunt is looking forward to the recovery of
Thinking about his old customer mix, he said, "Half of our tasting room were locals. And a lot of them don't live here anymore."
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