By Alexis Casnave, Features Editor
Despite the hardships Hurricane Ida has caused, it has not stopped the local businesses of Louisiana from prospering.
“I believe Houma and other parts of Southeast Louisiana will be bouncing back very soon,” says Sondra Corbitt, executive director of Explore Houma.
Corbett reports more businesses have reopened than have closed. From restaurants to local movie theaters, Houma is on track to be fully functional in the next couple of years.
Local flower shop, The Blooming Orchid, has been doing extremely well in the past year. The shop has been owned by Angela Adams since 1987 and Ida did little to slow down her business.
“During the shop’s repair, me and my crew worked from my house,” says Adams. “I was so grateful to still have business after such a horrific event.”
“I was so grateful to still have business after such a horrific event.”
— Angela Adams, owner of The Blooming Orchid
Adams’ shop sustained water and wind damage causing holes in her roof and loss of electricity for a few weeks. She salvaged what she could in equipment and flowers and continued to work from her home and took business calls from her personal cell phone.
Adams sells dozens of flower arrangements weekly with the number increasing into the hundreds during busy seasons like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
“A hurricane’s mess will be temporary, but the love and want for my flowers will stay constant,” says Adams.
Farther south in Galliano, family-owned restaurant Kajun Twist reopened for business on October 10, more than a year after Ida struck.
“Cooking this food is in my blood so I’ve been doing whatever it takes to share my talent with people,” says owner Anthony Goldsmith.
Unfortunately, the damage the restaurant sustained was enough to close it indefinitely, but by December 2021 the business was able to continue working out of a food truck offering Louisiana favorites like shrimp po’boys and gumbo.
Goldsmith says, “People are going miles out of their way to get a taste of our food and it’s truly a blessing after everything we’ve been through.”
Booming Construction
By Tyrese Lee, podcast Editor While Hurricane Ida damaged homes and businesses in South Louisiana, one industry is booming as they work to rebuild the region. Troy Brown, a contractor from Assumption Parish, says Hurricane Ida’s created so much work due to the massive amount of damage that it caused. “Because there was so much damage and work to be done, it created a backlog of contractors being able to get their work done,” says Brown, who is working in the parishes like Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. James and St. John where Ida did the most damage. The amount of work drew construction crews from all over the country, but local residents preferred local builders. “I’m a well-known local contractor and because of my reputation of the quality of work that I do here in the area, I’ve ended up being on a positive note because it generates so much business for me locally,” says Brown At first, the focus was on fixing roof damage, says Brown. And area building supply companies like Home Depot and Lowe’s were quick to stock up on roofing material due to the need. One difficulty in rebuilding quickly was the impact Hurricane Ida had on supply chains and workers. Doug Gregory, president and CEO of Morrison Terrebonne Lumber, says, “It was difficult getting employees back to work, especially those who lost their dwellings. We all worked around the clock at our stores and worked on our own homes after work through the night. It has been an exhausting process for all of us.” Ida’s impact on the supply chain was better than Gregory thought it would be because many of his vendors knew Ida’s impact and prioritized him by working with him as soon as possible. Morrison Terrebonne Lumber works in the homebuilding, remodeling, and repair business. Gregory says they had to turn down work for various types of jobs because the company was so busy with the business from Ida. Even more than a year later, they are still busy. Gregory hopes Morrison Terrebonne will complete most of its building projects from Ida by late spring of 2023. Another construction business, The Brick Yard, also struggled to keep up with the demand. “The customers were lined up at the door waiting to get materials as fast as we got them, and things started to get very hectic,” says Christian Page, a warehouse operator of The Brick Yard. “The customers were lined up at the door waiting to get materials as fast as we got them, and things started to get very hectic.” — christian page, warehouse operator at The brick yard The Brick Yard had to increase vendors to get a lot of materials from outside by meeting with sources outside the state. Most of the Brick Yard’s business after Ida was in roofing shingles, delivering those materials to areas like Cut-Off, Napoleonville and Gray. “It [Hurricane Ida] definitely helped out but at the same time it was overwhelming for a small business to try to maintain such a very high-frequency amount of customer service,” says Page. To meet the increased business, the Brick Yard is in the process of building a new, larger building across the street from its current location along with hiring more employees. Construction companies are now focusing more on getting materials in time for repairs to people’s homes so that the victims of Ida can finally move on. Contributed: The Brick Yard Contributed: Morrison Terrebonne Lumber