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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-09-21, Page 22 News Record • Wednesday, September 21, 2016 Store owners face repercussions of downtown fire Justine Alkema Clinton News Record There were two stores directly affected by the fire in downtown Clinton around three weeks ago - Made in Huron and Her Majes-Tea's Room. Sandy Garnet, owner of Made in Huron, has been able to very quickly open up shop in a new, temporary location. It is certainly much smaller than their previous spot, but for now, they are making it work. Each of the store's vendors is able to have a small space in the store while their other products are available by special order. They are also still able to do alterations and dry cleaning in their new location. However most of the items in the store at the time of the fire were destroyed due to smoke damage. This means that many vendors must "start fresh': Luckily with the sea- sons changing, some vendors still had their fall and winter items stored away. Garnet said her vendors Made in Huron's new, temporary location at 8 King Street, Clinton. were "shocked at first; a few had to pull out because they lost too much of an invest- ment and have nothing to replace it with. Some may try to buildup and join us again, but most are glad to see we have a small place, and that we'll still be visible within Clinton." As for when and if they will be able to move back, Justine Alkema Clinton News Record there are a lot of hoops to go through first. "We're waiting for the engineer's report and to hear back from the insurance company," said Garnet. As for the fate of the historic building, Garnet said, "Our hope is they can rebuild. So far, I'm optimistic." She says rebuild because the building will be in need of many repairs. First of all, the roof is destroyed. Garnet expressed concern that if it rains, it will seep into the building, potentially causing mold. The owner of the building has expressed that their goal is to fix the roof as soon as possible for this reason. As for other repairs, there will be many. It will likely have to be completely gutted from the ground up. The other store affected by the fire was Majes-Teas's Room owned by Sofia Brind- ley, who has lived in Clinton her whole Life. Like Made in Huron, much of what was in the store was destroyed by smoke damage. Also, since it is mostly consignment items, it is not covered by insurance. Brindley sells wedding dresses, and at the time of the fire, she had 35 new wed- ding dresses in her store. They were damaged by smoke, but with dry clean- ing, were still wearable. She marked them all down to a very inexpensive $100, opened the store for two days, and sold 23 of them in out of her store which had no hydro at the time. Brindley is unsure about the future of the store, but will definitely continue doing princess tea parties for birth- days, anniversaries, etc. The fire was particularly devastating for Brindley as the store is only a year old, and in that time she has put so much hard work into making the store what itis today. "I was devastated about the fire," said Brindley. "My sister and I did so much [in the store]; she made all my tutus. That's what's most frustrating, all the work that went into it. A lot of personal effort was destroyed." "Things could have been so much worse. I know that it's just material things. But the person who did this, it was a selfish, selfish act because they don't know how much people have put into these stores. I just hope they find who did it. It's a huge loss:' Justine Alkema Clinton News Record Students attending Ridgetown and Fanshaw programs at REACH were welcomed with a free dinner on September 14 courtesy the Clinton and Central Huron BIA along with Central Huron Council. THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY MONDAY OCTOBER 10 our I for THWISDAY Office Albert Clinton be the October Cy2 IIbTOBER San 2 Closed Monday www.elintonnewsrecord.com Ne ws Record* djohnston@postmedia.com i �� oc] 41 if you have any questions or concerns,, please give us