After weeks of uncertainty and closures, businesses on Phila Street in Saratoga Springs have finally reopened.
A water main break and subsequent electrical fire at 368 Broadway on June 19th knocked out power to the row of buildings including businesses and residences.
The Magic Moon owner Veronica Walczak says the past five weeks have been difficult.
“We thought that we were only going to be closed maybe a couple of days. And then a couple of days turned into a couple of weeks, and a couple of weeks turned into more weeks. And as it went on, I tried to be one with the experience but the thing that was really upsetting me was making sure my staff was OK, that they were financially OK so I made sure they were paid including their retirement. And that was a feat in itself to try to do that,” said Walczak.
The store is filled with gems, glass pipes, incense and other spiritual items. Walczak says they missed some of the biggest weekends of the year—the annual Jazz Fest and Dave Matthews concerts draw a surge of shoppers.
“Knowing that we weren’t there for that crowd, it wasn’t about the financial part, I’m going to start crying, it was about not being here for people that expect to see us and that was really upsetting to me. So, I’m still not over it but there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t change the past I can only move forward with what we’ve got now and we’re very blessed. The blessing is, nobody was hurt in the fire, none of our merchandise was ruined and we are hoping that maybe this will be a reboot,” said Walczak.
Chloe Kettlewell owns the dual art gallery and framing shop next door. She says they’re backed up with orders that they weren’t able to get to over the past several weeks, but the internet is still out.
“One of the more frustrating things is because our phone was out, we just had an old landline that’s been the same phone for umpteen years this has been a frame shop since 1990, that we had a lot of people saying, ‘we’ve been trying to call you, what’s going on?’ And they final found we had our cellphones on our website but it took people to go searching and finding it. So, people have been relieved to find out we actually are not just completely shut down and that we’re back in business,” said Kettlewell.
Lyrical Ballad sells antique and used books that are stacked to the ceiling. Fortunately, co-owner Charlie Israel says, no books or staff were harmed. He’s looking for the silver lining despite being closed for 36 days of the city’s peak tourism season.
“Being closed for the opening of track season hurt a lot. It was not great. I mean, it was what it was but if we could have closed for a month would that could-of been February. That said, we’ve got insurance, we’re trying to figure out how much they’re going to pay us for business interruption. People came back with a vengeance to support us and so all things considered we’re on solid footing, it could have been much worse,” said Israel.
According to owner Jen Mercellus, Miss Scarlett Boutique sustained damages in excess of $100,000 when its basement flooded.
Ruth Boals runs the combination consignment shop and hair salon in the basement of 1 Phila.
“So, each week they kept thinking that we were going to be open. I don’t think they knew the extent of actually what was happening because I heard that they had problems finding the parts because the building’s over 100 years old. So, each week you thought you were going to open, so I was going to get another job. I was going to do something; I’m not used to sitting around, I work seven days a week,” said Boals.
Boals says she enjoys talking politics with customers new and old and regrets missing one of the most politically eventful months in recent memory.
"That was the pathetic part of it. That’s the whole thing. My cat really knows me now, now he doesn’t want me to leave,” said Boals.
Maddy Zanetti is one of the co-owners of Impressions and Dark Horse Mercantile, two Saratoga Springs shopping staples. She says Impressions, on the corner of Broadway and Phila, was able to essentially stay in operation.
“So, we got a permit from the city to put a tent out on the sidewalk, which we do sometimes for special events anyway, but we did it for the entire month. And, we got the permit, set up the tent, and then every morning we would bring merchandise from the store out onto the sidewalk and it was kind of like during COVID where we did the personal shopping. If someone came and said, “I’m buying something for my grandson,’ or, ‘I’m looking for a wedding gift,’ we would come inside, we would get a whole bunch of merchandise for them, bring it out to the tent, let them look at it and then go from there. So, we did a lot of personal shopping,” said Zanetti.
The building’s upper floors hold more than a dozen apartments as well as office space.