Community Market reopens in Sebastopol almost five weeks after flood

Community Market reopened Monday almost five weeks after flooding swamped The Barlow in Sebastopol, a promising step toward getting all the remaining closed shops up and running again at the trendy shopping and restaurant district by the end of the month.

Customers waited in line before the doors opened at 10 a.m. at the grocery store - a beloved nonprofit highly visible along Highway 12. The store anchors the 220,000-square-foot complex that has become popular for its beer and wine producers, and its food scene with eateries such as Zazu Kitchen + Farm, The Nectary and The Farmer’s Wife.

Shoppers were able to peruse mostly packaged foods as workers hurriedly stocked the market with fruits, vegetables and beer.

The Victorian Farmstead Meat Co. housed inside the store also was open and selling fresh meats.

The deli and taproom should be open by the end of the week. The floodwater destroyed about $250,000 worth of mostly perishable foods.

“It’s huge to see us coming back from this,” said Kyle Koeppen, an employee who was stocking fresh cauliflower. He has worked at the store since it opened in 2013. “We weren’t sure when we were going to reopen. At first, we weren’t sure we were going to reopen.”

The reopening follows Pax Wine Cellars getting back in business Friday at The Barlow, situated along the Laguna de Santa Rosa. Other store owners forced to close by the atmospheric river that drenched Sonoma County in late February continue working to resume operations. Some of the tenants were overwhelmed by 5 feet of water during the worst flooding in the region since 1995.

The owner of The Barlow, Barney Aldridge, said Monday all shops should be open by the end of the month. He arranged for outside crews to assist with cleanup of the more than a dozen businesses still being refurbished. He said the Barrio Mexican restaurant and the Crooked Goat Brewing Co. should also reopen this week.

Only two businesses closed since the flooding will not come back: the clothing store Tamarind and the children’s store Circle of Hands. In both cases, Aldridge said their leases were about to expire and so those store owners opted not to reopen.

“There is 2,000 square feet available out of 220,000 square feet,” he said.

As part of Sebastopol officials’ approval to develop the district, The Barlow was required to have flood barriers up to 10 feet in front of businesses to prevent water from seeping inside.

But crews were unable to react in time and keep the rising floodwater from damaging many of the district’s tenants on Feb. 27.

Aldridge said he would be revamping storm protocols to act more quickly and try to prevent flooding from future storms.

Community Market was top priority to reopen, considering how many of its 60 to 70 were workers laid off after the flooding. It’s a hub for west county residents - whether those looking to its tasty jerk chicken to take home for dinner or watch a Warriors game at the bar while drinking a local craft beer.

Charne’ Shamblin said she was relieved that she could shop again and pick up the powdered turmeric that she could not find elsewhere. “I take it medicinally. ... I need it to be freshest. And it is,” Shamblin said. “I eat a lot of it.”

When the market opened again Monday about 20 people were working and virtually all of the staff will be back to work by week’s end, said Melissa Minton, community manager for the store.

The closure also left many local food producers in a lurch because the market showcases them, no matter how small they are. Graham Gould showed up Monday morning with his to-go sparkling coffee drink called Vivic, which is produced in Oakland. The store had been selling his product for about a month before the flood.

“We started to get traction and the floods happened,” Gould said. He donated the next batch of Vivic to the store to sell and take all the profits. “This is my market.”

Community Market is gradually restocking, starting with the most popular products first to generate cash flow it missed over the past five weeks.

Even though 6 to 8 inches of water seeped inside, all of the market’s drywall had to be replaced. The food-preparation equipment had to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Minton estimated the recovery work took about 500 volunteer hours by her crew and friends of the store, including volunteers from competitors Oliver’s Market and Pacific Market.

“We have a road to recovery ahead,” said Lisa Waltenspiel, Community Market’s marketing coordinator. “You get to see the connections within our community that exist beyond the physical realm of the store. We saw people come forward from every sector of our community. ... That’s been really heartwarming.”

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com.