Brittany Coover got a call from her alarm company Saturday evening warning her that her pet grooming business had a shattered window.
Coover knew bad weather was coming. In fact, her employee just left the facility less than 10 minutes before the tornado hit north and east Columbus. When she arrived at her business, her building wasn’t there. BJ’s Dog Grooming, 111 Conway Dr., was completely destroyed.
“All of the animals were safe, thank God,” Coover said. “They are all doing fine. We’re not going to let this get us down.”
Coover said she plans to open up shop at a new location. For now, she is no longer boarding animals. She posted on the business’ Facebook page she salvaged some of her items and has a temporary facility for pet grooming at 1600 Gardner Blvd. Coover also announced BJ’s Dog Grooming will open at its new location, 81 Wilcutt Block Road, in the near future.
When the tornado barreled toward Tuscaloosa Road, John Musa held his glass doors open for passerbys and storm victims to enter. The owner of United Deli, 212 Tuscaloosa Road, said he almost locked the doors when the weather started to worsen to hide from the tornado.
“Instead of hiding from the storm, we decided to help,” Musa said. “We didn’t know what to do really though. We were basically a shelter to, like, 19 people.”
Musa said the next day he noticed a few water spots in the ceiling, a small hole in the corner of his roof, a torn down fence and how his sign now leans closer toward the ground. Business there has been the same as usual since Sunday afternoon, though.
“Compared to everybody else, I’m blessed,” Musa said.
Bates Tire Center, 1404 Waterworks Road, sustained damage, but opened regardless to help first responders.
Co-owner Adam Bates said the building had shattered windows, vehicle windows broken and a hole in the roof.
“We opened up shop,” Bates said. “We were here for the city and the county and first responders in case of any debris. We were here for them if they needed anything. We are back at 100 percent now.”
Since the tornado, it’s difficult to grapple how many businesses have been affected by the storm. It’s even more difficult to count how many businesses have poured relief into the community.
Sylvia Graham, owner of Rex’s Direct Foods and Skeet’s Hot Dogs, said she’s done her best to give back. Tuesday, Skeet’s Hot dogs handed out free hot dogs, hamburgers and fries to storm victims and volunteers.
“I grew up here,” Graham said. “I’m doing my best to just help out and do what I can.”
Through Rex’s Direct Foods, 606 Alabama St., Graham said she is taking food orders for nonprofits, churches and organizations that are helping storm victims. For the next two weeks, those entities can purchase food, at purchase price, without a markup.
Sometimes, making sure your door is open is the best way to help.
Military Hardware, 1002 13th St. N., opened the day after the storm, but business did not go as usual.
Although, Military Hardware’s building didn’t have any damage, it opened without power after the storm.
With flashlights and generators, owner Brad Perkerson said he’s been busy every day since the storm and is just trying to help those affected. Though Military Hardware went three days without power (it was restored Tuesday afternoon), Perkerson said he was always going to open up shop.
“This is not my first rodeo,” Perkerson said. “If my computers are down, we get a clipboard and write down names and I charge it later. I’ve been through many storms in Columbus and I knew how to handle this one.”
It’s easy to see what the tornado did to Columbus. But if you look a little closer, you’ll see how people have reacted. Drive around town. You’ll see businesses setting up charging stations for people’s cell phones, insurance companies hosting barbecues in school parking lots and people walking door to door just to make sure someone is OK.
Got business tips? Email them to [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
