Businesses return after flood

Some stores get calls asking if they have reopened.

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — Vacant downtown storefronts are a constant reminder of the flood that swamped the city’s business district a year ago.

Shop owners who have returned say they’re still struggling to remind customers they’re back in business while others see good things ahead as new stores open.

“We may not be 100 percent well, but we’re alive,” said Warren Krout, president of the Findlay Downtown Area Association.

The downtown was one of the hardest-hit areas when the Blanchard River spilled over in August 2007, and rose 8 feet above flood level. It forced hundreds of residents to evacuate and was the northwest Ohio city’s worst flood in nearly a century.

Many business owners began ripping out waterlogged walls and floors and making repairs as soon as the water receded.

The river cuts through the northern end of downtown where about 20 storefronts are empty along a four-block stretch. About half were vacant before the flood.

Among those who didn’t return were music store owner Greg Halamay. “Until the Army Corps of Engineers addresses the situation, downtown is still vulnerable,” he said.

It’s a worry that’s never far from the surface.

A group of downtown property owners plans to teach shopkeepers how to minimize damage if there’s another flood.

Those who remain still get calls asking if they have reopened. “I think people don’t know we’re back in business,” said Cathy Linhart, owner of a sporting goods store.

New businesses have moved in — a used furniture store, a wig shop and a Web page design business.

“There’s great things happening. People just don’t realize it yet,” said Michael Mallett, chief executive of Corporate Research International, a consumer satisfaction firm based in Findlay.

What has remained is mostly restaurants and specialty stores, which make more sense for the downtown, he said.

“Some of those stores that were downtown were just barely making it and the flood gave them a reason to not come back,” Mallett said. “But they will be filled up in time with businesses that do fit the current mold.”

Cheaper rent downtown persuaded Brenda McCoy to open her used furniture store not far from the river.

Business has been good, but some customers are little suspicious that her merchandise may have been soaked in the flood, she said.

“A lot of people ask me if this is flood furniture,” McCoy said. “That bothers me.”