"It took a lot of work": Punta Gorda Mercantile back open after flood

Renovations at the Punta Gorda Mercantile are complete and the business is back open - following a flood in February that caused the store to temporarily shut down.

According to co-owner Shannon Ball, a running toilet flooded the store overnight on February 10. The store was forced to close for repairs. Ball said the store was initially expected to be closed for two weeks, but was ultimately closed for six weeks.

Alex Orenczuk.

“It was six weeks that we were closed and we had a soft reopening,” said Ball. “Then we reopened fully but people thought we were still closed, so it's been a struggle.”

Ball said it took months to officially complete the repairs to the building after the flood, including removing walls, impacted drywall and flooring.

“It took a lot of work, a lot of work from our vendors,” said Ball. “We’ve rebuilt, put the walls back up, painted, got new furniture and a new register area. It was a lot of hard work from a lot of people that volunteered to help us get going.”

Alex Orenczuk.

According to Ball, there was a point during the renovations where ownership was unsure if it would be viable to reopen the store. Ball said the community support helped them decide to complete the renovations.

“After we started having those feelings from the vendors and the community, we were just ‘like yes we have to reopen because everybody just loves this place,” said Ball.

The store is a "vendor mall" and is approximately 9000 sq ft and houses more than 200 independent vendor booths that sell a variety of antiques, handmade arts and jewelry and other unique items.

Alex Orenczuk.

“We have quite the variety and are very eclectic,” said Ball. So people come in and there's a lot to look at. Sometimes people spend hours here in the air conditioning and it's lots of fun for folks to shop.”

Despite the closure, Ball said the store was able to retain most of its vendors, and it is hosting a ‘Summer Luau Party & Sidewalk Sale’ on July 27 to celebrate its reopening.