Manager trainee Abraham Angles, second from left, who helped people shelter in the Lakeview Community Markets meat cooler before the March 14 tornado destroyed a significant portion of the grocery, poses Monday with, from left, district manager, Jenny Pyle; store manager Melanie Brandt; and assistant store manager Jessie Cline. (EXAMINER PHOTO | T.J. HUBBARD)
Quick-thinking manager trainee gets several to safety
All hands have been on deck since the March 14 tornado to help clean up and repair significant damage to the Lakeview Community Markets, 8793 Township Road 239.
Grocery store personnel are working hard and tentatively plan get the store reopen by Thursday, March 28.
The night of the devastating tornado, manager-in-training Abraham Angles was putting milk in the dairy cooler when a text alert about the storm flashed across his phone screen.
The 24-year old Russells Point resident immediately came to the front of the store to alert people to the danger.
Two customers decided to leave the store, but Angles was able to get about a mix of store employees, customers and others — about 10 in all — into the store’s meat cooler just moments before the twister hit.
One of the employees Angles was able to help to safety is a resident of the nearby Star Mobile Homes trailer park who wasn’t working at the time and made her way across U.S. Route 33 to the grocery. The trailer park was severely impacted by the storm.
“There was a loud noise and everything was shaking,” Angles said, adding, he could hear water coming through the ceiling as the storm ravaged the store.
“He (Angles) did everything he was supposed to,” district manager Jenny Pyle who oversees the Lakeview store and a dozen others said in praise of Angles’ actions.
When the storm passed and people emerged from the meat cooler, the extent of the damage was quickly evident.
About 6,000 square feet of the store’s west end was destroyed. That area of the store housed the dairy case where Angles had been restocking milk before disaster struck, along with the produce area, and a shipping-receiving area with a loading dock and a box baler.
The dairy case has now been relocated to the east end of the store. A new wall was erected to wall off the section of the store that was destroyed.
Everything from meats and frozen foods to bakery and deli items and snacks is being restocked and should be available for Thursday’s anticipated reopening. Although, some of the brands customers are used to may be different, store manager Melanie Brandt said.
“But we can get items that customers request,” she noted.
Immediately following the tornado, some of the meat and other times that were salvageable were quickly taken to four other area CM stores. A considerable amount of bakery items, water and pop were donated to local churches.
Food safety has been a priority. The few items that remained in the store were inspected and covered with plastic during repairs and remodeling.
Plans are also in the works to roll out grocery delivery services for a limited time to help storm impacted residents. Details about grocery delivery have not yet been finalized.
The grocery chain has collected about $10,000 to date for Indian Lake disaster relief and customers at the Lakeview store will be able to donate to relief efforts as well.
The management team also gave a nod to building owner, W.R. Dixon, who operates the adjoining Lakeview Hardware Home Center.
“W.R. has been fantastic from day one,” Brandt exclaimed.
He (Dixon) brought in a caravan of heavy equipment and an army of people to help get things cleaned up, she said, adding he spent considerable time checking on the grocery, even with his own store being damaged.
Store officials also confided that the devastation and loss has been difficult because they develop friendships with people in the community, noting that one of the tornado victims claimed by the storm had been a regular customer.
Pyle said CM is looking forward to getting the store open for local residents.
“We call ourselves Community Markets and that’s what we are.”
