Three Penny Taproom co-owner Kevin Kerner works at the restaurant's deck, which is open while the flood-damaged restaurant itself is repaired. Photo by John Lazenby.
A weekday stroll through downtown Montpelier reveals change on all fronts: businesses that have been back since immediately after the flood; those that are newly back — including the Food Pantry in its new home at the rear of City Center — and those that are hard at work getting back, from Aubuchon, which will come back in a new partnership with Ace Hardware, to The Drawing Board, Pho Thai Express, Mad Taco, Julio’s and Oakes & Evelyn, to name a few. Some businesses will be back soon, possibly in time for the fall foliage rush; others have a longer road to return, but there’s a lot of building going on. The lights are coming on.
Click on an image below to enlarge it; all photos by John Lazenby.
Betty Brockett works at Althea’s Attic, recently reopened on State Street in Montpelier after the Flood of 2023.Shawn Violette of Barre Tile works on the floor of Julio’s restaurant on State Street in Montpelier.Mannequins in haz-mat suits at the newly reopened Althea’s Attic store on State Street in Montpelier are reminders of the massive flood cleanup.George Estes, left, and Rick Harlow work on repairing the flood-damaged State Street restaurants Julio’s and Oakes & Evelyn.Todd Everett paints during repair of a flood-damaged office on State in Montpelier.A passerby reads about the Flood of 2023 on the window of Woodbury Mountain Toys, State Street, Montpelier, VT, after the flood of 2023.Dylan Fishman, food manager at the Montpelier Food Pantry run by Just Basics, works on the supplies at the pantry, which is newly reopened in the rear of City Center.Matt LaCroix of Barre and the Royal Group works on the security and fire systems at the Drawing Board on Main Street in Montpelier. The store is recuperating from the flood of July 10-11.Three Penny Taproom co-owner Kevin Kerner works at the restaurant’s deck, which is open while the flood-damaged restaurant itself is repaired.Lotus Day Spa joins nearly a dozen other downtown businesses that have been opening back up this week, nearly nine weeks after the July flood. Photo by John Lazenby.Charles Scholl, right, and James Cote snap a chalk line while working on repair of the Aubuchon Hardware Store on Main Street, Montpelier, after the flood of 2023.The Cheshire Cat has reopened on State Street, Montpelier, after flood of 2023.
