ENTERPRISE, Ala., smoke settled in downtown Enterprise after a fire damaged three businesses early Sunday morning.
In less than a week, Coffee Corner celebrated its one-year anniversary in the city of progress and looked forward to the years ahead.
But on Sunday, October 16, everything changed.
“I woke up this morning and I smelled smoke and I thought how strange it is that someone is burning leaves when we are in a drought and we shouldn’t be burning anything and I opened the door and thought that is true. Thick smoke,” recalled Coffee Corner owner Jenny Chance.
That’s when Chance made the call to get downtown as quickly as possible.
“I jumped into my clothes, sent my husband a panicked voice note and ran out the door,” she said.
The early morning fire, believed to have started at All About Art, quickly spread to The Shed and Coffee Corner.
All the owners were heartbroken.
“This is a love and family business that we put our heart and soul into. We have invested heavily in downtown enterprise and our city. We tried to make a difference here.” said Regina Lacey, owner of All About Art.
For Coffee Corner, the downfall comes with the loss of everyday interaction.
“We will lose our regular viewers. When we opened the store every morning, our biggest anticipation was the smiling faces walking in the door and the people who said, “My day wouldn’t start without you,” and every time we saw them coming down. On the sidewalk, the baristas began pouring their drinks. My son knew everybody’s drink,” Chance said.
As with all art, clients say the biggest loss is a piece they recently created.
“Especially in our art studios, they were places where people came and created their own memories and art, and you can’t replace those things. There were things that were probably lost in the process and we were very sad about that,” Lacy said.
It all affected their hopes of returning to downtown Enterprise, but now no one is hurt and they’re grateful for the community service they’ve received.
Due to the extensive damage and danger to the buildings, these owners were unable to enter to see if anything was left of the fire.
Jessica Goodson, owner of All About Art, said on Friday that a customer accidentally left the room wearing the invitation and intended to return it on Saturday, but it was a blessing before they got around to it. The deck was changed the day after the fire and everyone about Art has at least one item to hold on to and take care of.
The State Fire Marshal was in progress today investigating the cause of this fire.
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