Sunday, April 18, 1999

Florist to reopen at Harper's Crossing

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BY PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Beth Durban holds a mangled flower arrangement in the rubble of her floral shop. (Michael E. Keating) | ZOOM |

        It's been more than a week since Beth Durban of Adrian Durban Florists found a mangled flower arrangement in rubble of her destroyed business in The Shops at Harper's Point. Along with everything else in the shop, the flower arrangement was sent to a dump.

        “I saw them loading the building into a dump truck today and hauling it away,” Ms. Durban said Thursday. The Harper's Point store opened in July 1997.

        Friday, she solidified plans for a temporary shop at the nearby, undamaged Harper's Crossing shopping center.

Durban last week in her greenhouse in Clifton. (Michael E. Keating) | ZOOM |

        Thankfully, the $250,000 to $350,000 worth of fixtures and inventory inside the 1,500-square-foot store was well-insured, Ms. Durban said. Insurance also will cover the shop's lost business and temporary relocation.

        Meanwhile, the main computer system was safe and dry at Adrian Durban's Clifton location, which allowed the florist to process many orders that were called into the destroyed shop before the tornado.

        “We're missing the walk-in trade, which was considerable (at Harper's Point),” Ms. Durban said. She said she was afraid many customers aren't aware of the other Adrian Durban location at Clifton and Ludlow avenues.

        The temporary location should open within the next few weeks, Ms. Durban said.

        “Now, it's like starting over,” she said.

       

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