A local business owner has been flooded with support from the community after disaster hit his shop early this week.
The severity of the incident can be seen by hitting play on the video below:
It was around 4 p.m. on Monday when La Poche owner Michael Forbes got the call: water was flooding his business, and fast. The HVAC system failed in the business upstairs, Guelph Youth Dance, causing the sprinklers to freeze and burst.
“Because it’s a sprinkler, there’s a lot of water involved, and you can’t just turn it off like with the water in your house. You have to wait for the fire department or whomever,” Forbes said. “So there was a lot of water pouring out in front of the store on the street. There was a good four inches of water on my floor where the whole business is, and a good eight inches in the basement.”
His ceiling fell down, some wall items were damaged, and the piano and furniture “got really, really wet.”
Guelph Youth Dance was holding classes at the time and rushed “the little dancers” across the street to Mijiidaa, who Forbes said has been a big help this week.
The business next door, The Nut, was impacted as well and suffered major losses including equipment.
He was in Toronto with his partner when he got the call and “became immediately stupefied.”
“I don’t need this,” he said. “I struggled so much the last year to get this going, and I was finally seeing some pattern of positivity, an uptick of people coming to the bar. So I was stunned and in shock.”
His partner helped him through the initial shock, rushing back to Guelph, cleaning up and advocating for Forbes, who was struggling to process everything.
“She was so present and helpful,” he said.
The community has also been “amazing,” reaching out and offering support.
“So far it looks ok, except for the building.”
There is a chance water is frozen and trapped in the front of the building, which he said could be a problem.
“But the reality is, the landlords responded very quickly. They called a disaster company who came right away. They started to dehumidify and clean up. So that was great.”
He’s been told he’ll likely be able to reopen in three or four weeks.
The problem for Forbes, though, is that he had a thriving hair cutting business and co-working space, and a bar he just launched that was starting to pick up traction.
“So I have no income,” he said.
“That also means the bartender who works there is not being paid,” he said.
He was encouraged to launch a GoFundMe to cover expenses during the closure, and in just a few days it surpassed his goal of $14,000.
“I'm gonna be okay, but only because of the community support,” he said. “If I hadn't received the GoFundMe or the love and support of my partner, I’d be done.
“I have to say that all in all, this experience has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “I have a habit of telling the negative side of a story and indulging in that, and this was a bit of an epiphany for me.
“I really wasn’t sure if the community supported my place, the place I’ve created for the community and myself. But with this outpouring of support, there’s really no question that people love the place and want to support me.”