Jacksonville businesses adjust to change in demand following storm
The northern
"We're already looking at building plans," Mousa said Tuesday.
Mousa was one of several local merchants who saw their fortunes suddenly changed when an EF-3 tornado barreled down on the college town last week. The eastbound twister smashed into one of the city's most densely populated neighborhoods, damaging more than 500 buildings, most of them houses and apartment complexes. Only a handful of businesses were physically hit, but the economic effects of the storm were felt miles away.
"We've seen a bump in sales of things like chain saws and tarps," said
"The real boom is going to come in a few weeks when people start rebuilding," Brothers said.
Local hotels filled with storm victims quickly after the tornado passed. At
Residents of the most-damaged dwellings spent much of the last weekend sorting through their belongings, deciding which to keep and which to throw out. Workers at some local mini-storage businesses say they've had a flood of inquiries about use of their storage facilities, but few units have actually been taken.
"We've had a few, but not a lot," said
Near
"It's simple logic," he said. "They had a good store and did a good job, and now their customers need somewhere to go."
Young said some of the business boost may be due to the influx of volunteers, though that's hard to prove beyond what Young says are unusual patterns of sales at the store, such as increased sales of some brands of cigarettes.
The storm came with costs to Young as well. Some of his stock had to be thrown out because of the lack of electricity. He said he provided free doughnuts and coffee to volunteers over the weekend.
Attempts to reach the owners of
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