Less than three weeks after a tornado tore through the Ottawa-Gatineau region, members of the local business community are still picking up the pieces.
Staff at the Heart and Soul café in Dunrobin, Ont., finally reopened the doors for the first time since the storm on Saturday just in time for Thanksgiving.
“It was a scramble,” said Jodie Bowen, who runs the café with husband Jim Bowen. The Heart of the Valley gift shop, which the couple operated in a yurt next to the café was destroyed in the tornado that devastated much of Dunrobin on Sept. 21. Some 80 homes were left condemned or flattened. Almost 100 families are still out of their homes and many are waiting to hear from contractors or insurance providers.
But neighbouring businesses and communities are coming together to provide relief for those affected, including the weekly farmers’ market in Carp, Ont., where donations of food and money are being collected for tornado relief.
“It’s just an important thing to do, to help out as much as we can,” said market manager Ennio Marcantonio.
Grace O’Malley’s, a bar closer to downtown Ottawa, is holding a benefit concert for the Canadian Red Cross tornado relief fund.
“They really need it,” said Ken Fitzpatrick. “People come out to see us all the time and it’s time to give back.”
At the Dunrobin Heart and Sould Café, plans to reopen the gift shop are underway. The Bowens hope to set up a new portable within a few weeks to have that part of the business operational for Christmas. But inside the full café this weekend, customers and staff were just glad to be back to work.
“This is like my second home,” said staff member Marlena Sandor. “(The Bowens) are more than just bosses. It’s great to be a part of that again.”
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Leah Larocque.
