Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Tuesday’s rains sent water rushing down the stairs of two lower level businesses in downtown Frederick, destroying much of what was inside.
When Bob Berberich went to his basement level store Vinyl Acres on Tuesday night, he found more than a foot of water on the floor. Since his store is located on the lowest point of the street and doesn’t have a drain outside, he keeps all the merchandise on the floor in plastic bins. Unfortunately, he said the water was higher than the bins. The approximately $20,000 of merchandise in the containers was ruined, including some irreplaceable used records.
“Some of these records, these are the only copies I’ve ever seen of them, and that’s what so sad is because even though I’ll get more records, but I won’t get these records,” Berberich said.
He added insurance does not cover the used merchandise he sells. Fortunately, he said he will be able to re-open because merchandise on shelves above the flood level was spared.
After his store flooded in 2015, Berberich said he took the bull by the horns and fixed it up with the help of friends and was able to re-open in a little more than two weeks.
“This time I’m 70-years-old now, I just, and this has been a much bigger blow to me psychologically. I just don’t have it in me to do all the work myself this time,” Berberich said.
The landlord is paying for a professional company to clean up and repair the store, and Berberich thinks he can re-open in a few weeks.
The owner of the business next door to Vinyl Acres arrived early Wednesday morning to find more than $10,000 worth of products and equipment destroyed by flood water.
“For almost 24 hours straight we were there, we were cleaning up, bailing out water,” said Ashley Goldston of Indellibelle Beauty.
She said she has contacted insurance about the property loss but isn’t hopeful after other business owners told her the losses would likely not be covered.
“It’s really sad and aggravating that you pay these premiums and you hope for the best, and then you have to go battle for a service that they’re supposed to be providing,” Goldston said.
Goldston said she has already placed orders for new products and hopes to re-open within the next few weeks.
To help the business owners recoup their losses, the Downtown Frederick Partnership has set up Go Fund Me pages for both Vinyl Acres and Indellibelle Beauty.
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Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Vinyl Acres Flood Recovery GoFundMe)
