Gagetown 'open for business' after flooding, merchants fear lingering effects
As waterfront shops in the village of Gagetown reopen following spring flooding, concern about the lingering effects on the village grows.
Floodwaters forced all but one merchant along the river side of Front Street to close for several weeks — a hard hit for the village that depends heavily on the short summer season for tourism dollars.
"There is a concern about how it's going to impact just the psychology of going out and having a good time at a restaurant and buying things in craft shops when your entire cottage has been devastated," said Thane Mallory, who owns Gulliver's World Cafe, a seasonal restaurant on Front Street.
"That's a major concern."
Mallory said his restaurant would normally have opened more than six weeks ago, but was delayed because of the flooding.
"We missed two of the best dates in the restaurant calendar and that's the May long weekend and Mother's Day."
He estimates he lost between $15,000 and $20,000 in revenue.
Mallory's restaurant is on post and beam so the water damage was minimal. He did, however, have to make sure the well water was clean and uncontaminated.
"It's really the loss of income which is a major hit," he said. "Everyone says, 'Oh aren't you lucky, your restaurant didn't flood.' Yes, it was also shut down for six and a half weeks."
After the flood last year, Mallory says foot traffic dropped.
Many people with cottages in the area who normally visit the village had their own flooding problems to deal with.
"We didn't see those people until probably the first week of September. And a lot of those discussions were tearful because the family cottage had totally been destroyed."
'Stigma' effect
Gagetown Mayor Mike Blaney said there's also a flooding "stigma" that has an effect.
"[That] we've been put through the wringer with respect to the flood situation," he said. "And that it requires time and effort to clean up and get back on our feet.
"And from that point, individuals that may have been apt to drop by and patronize the various commercial enterprises may be a little more hesitant to do so, either thinking that we're still in the midst of trying to get back on our feet and not wanting to be a burden, so to speak."
It's an image the village doesn't want.
"There was a flood. Yeah," said Mallory. "It shut us down for a little bit. But Gagetown is open for business and we're going to be here."
