Shops clean up, start to reopen

Small businesses in the Washington area worked steadily yesterday to repair damage left by Hurricane Isabel, in an attempt to reopen their doors this week.

Many shops opened triumphantly yesterday, three days after Isabel slammed into the Eastern Seaboard. But many businesses in the District, Northern Virginia and Maryland were among the nearly 350,000 customers still without electrical power.

Most shop owners in areas hard-hit by flooding spent the weekend soaking up water, cleaning out debris and trying to salvage what was left of their inventories.

Evidence of Isabel’s wrath could be seen in spots like Union Street in Old Town Alexandria, where water levels reached as high as 5 feet Friday. Piles of trash, damaged products and sandbags lined the street, and shop owners posted signs indicating when they might be open for business again.

“The Fish Market Will Open Tuesday!! Nice Try Isabel!!” read a sign outside the Fish Market and Restaurant at the corner of King Street and Union Street. Senior night manager Matthew Ammon worked with a cleanup crew yesterday, running dehumidifiers and trying to determine if all of the restaurant’s kitchen equipment worked.

“We’re still trying to determine just how much of the kitchen and ice-cream equipment was damaged,” Mr. Ammon said. He said the cleanup was delayed because a natural gas line had been cut during the storm. Down the street, Chadwick’s Restaurant remained closed because it had no natural gas.

Perhaps no other business in Alexandria was harder hit than Olsson’s Books and Records on Union Street. The store lost nearly its entire stock of compact discs and many of its books.

“For a small business like us, it’s pretty devastating,” said store manager Russell Rudolph, adding that he could not even begin to calculate the value of goods lost. Nevertheless, Olsson’s managed to reopen by Saturday, instructing customers to enter via a back entrance because of massive damage to the front.

Some shop owners in Alexandria said they were upset with town officials for not offering enough services to protect businesses near the water from flooding. Sandbags used to block water were often unavailable or distributed at inconvenient locations, they said.

“Basically, the city decided it wasn’t going to do any good,” Mr. Ammon said.

Elsewhere, the East Potomac Golf Course at Hains Point in Southwest was open, but only partially. Course managers allowed golf on about half of the holes; the rest were still under water. Fears lingered that high tide along the Potomac River would lead to more flooding.

In Fairfax County, concern over water safety left some business owners unsure when they would be able to open. The county said water could be contaminated and suggested boiling water before use. Restaurant owners, in particular, said this would create a massive burden.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened a toll-free number to accept disaster-relief applications. The number, 800/621-FEMA, will be available from 7 a.m until midnight every day until further notice.