When Raj Singh and his wife Nav took over the historical
Inverness Store, which has served Inverness since the 1800s, some in
the community took a guarded approach to the new owners from over the
hill, but the New Year’s Eve flood that has swept the store to
the brink of bankruptcy also brought garlands of appreciation and assistance.
This assistance, which began with volunteer cleanup
as soon as the store flooded, and continued with offers of money, has
been overwhelming for the new owners, who have told the community that
they do not want any handouts, and want to survive, if at all, on their
own four feet.
Preternatural rains combined with a seven foot high
tide in Tomales Bay inundated the store in the early morning on Dec.
31. Water from the bay gushed in through the back of the store and by
afternoon a pool of more than two feet of water had muddied the prospects
of the new owners.
"I thought I was going to run away when I first
saw the store," Nav Singh, 29, said with a laugh. "I freaked
out."
Community responded to storm
Nav and Raj Singh also saw about 50 people–some
who they had never met before–doing whatever they could to help
save and clean up the store. "It was just amazing to see all the
people," Raj Singh, 37, said. "We are humbled by all the support.
It means a lot."
In less than two weeks the Singhs along with the community
were able to clean and repair a lot of the store. But a high monthly
electricity bill and an estimated $100,000 in damages from the storm
has Nav Singh worried about the future. "It’s better not to
think about it," she said. "The next six months will determine
whether we will make it."
On Jan. 10 a thin layer of mud was still packed into
the corners of the store. Heaps of black trash bags full of food, household
items and just about everything else that was on bottom shelves in The
Inverness Store before the heavy rains hit on Dec. 30 were strewn on
the shore of Tomales Bay, behind the store.
Residual Damage
The motors from the refrigeration system are
slowly dying, the wiring that controls the cash registers was severely
damaged by the water and the floor in almost every area of the store
is in a ruinous condition. Nav Singh remembers that one of the first
scenes she saw when she and Raj waded into the store after the flood
was all the perishable goods wafting about.
At the store’s lowest point in the side storage
room, a water mark stained the wall three feet above the floor. Before
the storm the Singhs used a back room for their four-month-old newborn
girl to rest in. The room’s hardwood floor is now warped from the
water. A child’s toys, a crib and highchair are sullied. They sit
next to an industrial vacuum cleaner, buckets of sludge and three dozen
sodden boxes of bottled water placed about the room.
The building, which is insured for flood damage, did
not sustain serious damage, but many of the store’s contents that
were damaged are excluded in the Singhs’ insurance policy.
Ample business in the summer usually allows the store’s
owners to ride out the less lucrative winter months. But the extra costs
incurred from this winter’s storm have the Singhs looking to the
community for help once again. "We are not the fanciest store,
but if people can support us during our hard times we can continue,"
Nav Singh said.
Owners ask for business not donations
The Singhs have been offered money from the
community, but they refuse to take it. "I didn’t think it
was appropriate," Raj Singh said. "People have helped us so
much already, the best way people can help us is by shopping here."
Their conscience, they said, doesn’t allow for them to take donations.
"My husband says we will make it," Nav Singh said.
Winter months are especially tough for the resilient
store owners. There is very little business from tourists and recently
the store had begun selling costly organic foods; a decision the Singhs
hoped would please the locals. The decision to sell organic products
pushed the Singhs’ expenses up and now the family is making sure
they save all the money they can.
"Some days you don’t want to show up,"
Nav Singh said. "The only reason we come to work is because of
the community."
Guy Meyer, 91, of Inverness, slowly strode into The
Inverness Store on a weekday afternoon. "Hello Mr. Meyer,"
Raj Singh said loudly. "How are you doing?" Meyer tipped his
hat toward Raj Singh and cordially responded to the welcome with smile.
What happened to the store was really "terrible,"
Meyer said, adding that he thought the store looked strange without
products on the lowest shelves. Meyer has been coming to the store for
a long time and he said that won’t change just because things are
a little messy. "I’ll be here every day," he said.