News

Flooded Store Reopens

Updated Thursday, January 10, 2013

Written By: Tanja Rekhi

ATHENS [WENY] -- More signs of recovery in Athens, more than a year after floodwaters devastated downtown.

The main drag resembled a ghost town, after the September 2011 floods,

The rebuilding process has been long, and today, one of the towns landmark stores opened, bigger and better.

I visited the new Jay Carpet today and after 15 months of re-building and remodeling, the owner of the store can proudly say they've made a comeback.

In fact, the new store combines furniture and flooring all on one large space as opposed to the two different stores before the flood.

The flood in 2011 destroyed much of the valley leaving it several feet under water.

The owner of the store, David Rosenbloom says he had to start fresh, from the ground up to hold on to a business that's been in the family for decades.

Today was a monumental day for David and his family.

He says he couldn't have done it without the support of the community.

"At the time you're kind of like.. First you're depressed and then you're trying to cope with the whole thing. But once we made a decision, then it seemed like a good good thing, you know, because then it was just a matter of time and we knew what we were doing," said David Rosenbloom.

This June will mark the 70th anniversary of the company that's been in the family for generations.