A building in Simsbury that is home to nearly a dozen businesses went up in flames over the weekend, and it’ll likely need to be torn down. The cause of the fire is under investigation as business owners scramble to get back on their feet.
A building in Simsbury that is home to nearly a dozen businesses went up in flames on Saturday night, leaving small business owners with nothing ahead of the holidays.
Old Hopmeadow Center was home to 11 small businesses, including a yoga studio, hearing center, hair salon, nail salon and tutoring center.
On Monday morning, Jackie Jeffko wiped tears from her eyes when looking at what remained of the building that was her second home for over a decade.
“It was a little beehive of small businesses. Just owning a small business…you put your guts and your heart and your soul into that. It’s more than a job. It’s more than a place to go to work,” Jeffko said. “I lost everything, everything I owned was in there.”
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Her hair salon, Shades Above, was located at the top of the building in the loft.
“Little slice of heaven I used to call it,” she said through tears. “My place in the sky. It’s more the memories and the mementos I had in there. I had a lot of things from my mom when she helped me start this business. So, things that can’t be replaced.”
Flames poured out of the roof and the right side of the building, that’s now a pile of rubble. What remains standing of the building may need to be torn down, officials said. A decision hasn’t yet been made.
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“I came down around 10:30 and stayed for an hour watching it burn,” Matthew Chmielewski of MC Tutoring said. “[The fire] was very angry, from the basement going up.”
Chmielewski is one of the lucky ones who has found a new location to work out of. This week, he’s working at the library and visiting student’s homes. Tomorrow, he’ll sign a new lease in a new location.
Nonprofit organization Simsbury Main Street Partnership, along with the town, is helping business owners get back on their feet.
“We heard about the fire, I started getting text messages on Saturday night, Main Street along with the town of Simsbury started working to find temporary space for the businesses that are being displaced starting Sunday morning,” Sarah Nielsen, executive director of the organization, said. “Main Street got an inventory of available space that would be available immediately and would be available short term.”
She said property owners in the community are generously offering free rent for a month and forgoing security deposits.
“We have six businesses that we are fairly confident will be able to find a home,” she said.
For Jeffko, what’s helping her in her grief is the outpouring of love and support from customers, the community and fellow hair stylists. Some even offering her a chair to continue her work.
“My old landlord reached out, offered me free space, I’ve had people in Unionville…Chris Carmen over at Zinc Salon, everybody’s offered their space for free. Allison [from] Ashmore [Hair Studio] handed me a key to her salon yesterday, no questions asked, she just gave me a key,” she said. “It’s just time to start a new, time to start fresh.”
