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Milford Businesses Move Forward After Fire
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Main Street
3/6/2000
By: Priscilla Searles
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MILFORD - The owners of three Broadway stores destroyed by fire on February 14 are determined to keep going. Wanda Hormack, owner of Wanda's Sugar Shack, has already relocated to 8 Harbor Walk, just a few doors away from her last store.
“This is the second time I've lost the store to fire,” says Hormack, who moved to Broad Street eight years ago when fire destroyed her original store. “I've survived a flood and two fires, but I keep going. I was lucky to find an empty store in a good location, and with the whole family pitching in we were open for business a week after the fire. We found an ad for a candy store going out of business and were able to get all the equipment we needed. Even my candy supplier pitched in to get us open in record time.”
Hormack, who reported very busy first-week business, happily points out that somehow her Sugar Shack sign has managed to survive two fires and a flood, too.
Joel Weber, owner of Retro Active, a vintage clothing store, is still looking at possible locations, preferably in downtown. In the vintage clothing business for 15 years, Weber says he has sold vintage clothing to every major museum costume collection in the county. As to how difficult it is going to be to find new stock, Weber allows that some things can't be replaced, but “Luckily a portion of the collection, the top designer items, hadn't been placed in stock yet and some seasonal items were in storage. Recent acquisitions that need dry-cleaning or repair weren't in stock.
“If I buy 200 items in an estate sale, I never know how many I can actually use, so I have items that I haven't gone over yet,” Weber says. “I'm not completely out of business; I'm still active on the Internet - a good vehicle for consignment items. I can compete on the Internet on an equal footing.”
Weber still feels strongly about the appeal of unusual businesses such as his. “The real future of Milford is in regional tourism,” he says. “You can get here by car, boat or train, and if you do, you can afford to shop in some unique stores.” Clearly, he plans on being one of them.
Marti Reed, owner of the Canvas Patch, had to force herself to look at the damage following the fire. The gift shop's blue awning and wind socks have been part of the Milford streetscape for 23 years.
“After the fire I was asked if I wanted to go inside, but I couldn't do it,” she says. “I was almost afraid that I'd see some one-of-a kind item that was still recognizable - a piece of art or a Russian stacking doll - and somehow that would make it worse. But there was nothing left.”
Reed allows that “I was lucky, however. Firemen found my filing cabinet and although it was twisted and badly damaged, firemen opened it with an ax and were able to save my inventory book and many of my papers. The memorabilia is gone, a poem that a child wrote for me 23 years ago, letters, pictures. But people have been so great, sending cards, letters, calling me offering office space, use of their fax machines, everything you can think of. I even saw the child that wrote the poem all those years ago.
“Yes, I'll be back,” Reed proclaims. “The hardest thing so far is working at home. I miss the contact with downtown and the people, so I go downtown at least once a day to stay connected.”
The fire has prompted the Milford Chamber of Commerce to announce that it will begin to accept donations for a newly formed fund, known as the Phoenix Project, which will benefit individuals affected by the fire. The fund is officially designated as a 501(c)3, not-for-profit enterprise administered by the Milford chamber. All disbursements will be made at the discretion of the foundation trustees, who are past presidents of the chamber. All donations may be identified as a charitable deduction for tax purposes. Those wishing to make a donation to the Phoenix Project should make checks payable to the Milford Chamber of Commerce Trust Fund/Phoenix Project.
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