Lacey Stores Remain Open During Construction

Eric Plaza businesses remain open during construction that began several months after a

In addition to repairing the exterior soffit that was damaged during the September fire, the shopping plaza will be getting a makeover. The face of the building will be redone, Devon Metallo owner of said.

The tanning salon was the lone business to sustain extensive damage during the early morning fire.

The experience was an emotional one, Metallo said. The business was originally told after the fire, that they would be able to reopen later that day. It wasn’t until five months later that Rortonga was back in business.

“It was more of a nightmare process,” Metallo said.

From broken windows to smoke, soot and water damage, the business needed to start over.

“We had no choice,” she said.

The consignment shop, which was located next door, was out of business, Metallo said. The landlord offered Rartonga to move into that space.

But it wasn’t just a matter of moving, the company had to renovate the entire storefront, she said. After opening on March 3, the store has a whole new layout and new beds.

“The soot damage was in all the beds,” Metallo said. It was more cost effective to replace the tanning beds rather than shipping them out to have them cleaned and repaired.

During that time, the salon’s customers had to go elsewhere, Metallo said.

“It was sad,” she said. “It hurt in a sense, we couldn’t be there for our customers. But everything worked out.”

Metallo was worried about reopening and what sort of response Rarotonga would get as far as customers returning.

“They were all waiting for us to open, which was awesome,” she said.

Rarotonga reopened as soon as the electric company gave Metallo the okay, she said.

The former storefront remains unoccupied.

Construction, which includes $150,000 in renovations, began last week and will most likely be complete within the next three weeks, said Eric Plaza owner Nava, who declined to use her last name.

"It will be beautiful when it's done," she said. "It will look entirely different."

In addition to the facelift, the plaza will be modernized with new and brighter lighting, she said. She added that the renovations were primarily because they wanted a modernized center, as the fire impacted only a small portion of the building.

Lee of seemed unphased by both the fire and construction.

“It’s only going to look nicer,” he said.

On the otherhand, Liberty Tax Service has been impacted by the fire and renovations, owner Randy Miller said.

"It puts everyone out a little bit. It's an inconvenience," he said, especially since it's tax season. "In the end it will be better because it will be fixed from the fire that was on the outside of the building. Everything has been checked and inspected. It's safer."

Other stores located at Eric Plaza include: Lacey Carpet, Country Farms, , , and .