Jacksonville businesses adjust to change in demand following storm

March 28--JACKSONVILLE -- StarMart will be back.

The northern Jacksonville convenience store, known well to residents of student neighborhoods on the west side, was among the businesses smashed by the March 19 tornado, but owner Sam Mousa said he intends to rebuild.

"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 Walt Brothers, manager of Lowe's Home Improvement in Anniston. Contractors and insurance adjusters swarmed the storm-damaged hillside in the days immediately after the storm, but Brothers said local hardware stores haven't seen the real economic effect of the storm yet.

"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 Hampton Inn, employees last week estimated they were housing about 150 people who'd fled their homes due to storm damage.

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 James Green, an employee at Alexandria-Jacksonville Mini Storage. Green said there were still spaces available at the storage facility.

Near Jacksonville's town square, the Grub Mart convenience store did brisk business over the weekend. Owner Brian Young said he hated to think the boost was due to someone else's misfortune. Still, he said, the surge was probably due in part to the fact that his store is now the only gas station on the north side of town.

"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 Edwards Grocery, a store on Alabama 204 that saw severe roof damage from the storm, were unsuccessful Tuesday. Members of the Edwards family told The Gadsden Times last week that rebuilding the store could take six months.

Jacksonville's StarMart was part of the Samco chain of convenience stores owned by Mousa's Oxford-based company. Mousa said the store's four employees are working at other stores in the chain while the store is closed.

Capitol & statewide reporter Tim Lockette: 256-294-4193. On Twitter @TLockette_Star.

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