Main Street tornado recovery nearly complete as rebuilt shopping center opens
GAYLORD — One of the most visible signs of damage to emerge from the May 20, 2022 tornado that ravaged Gaylord was the Pine Ridge Square Shopping Center off of M-32 West.
The EF-3 tornado, with winds as high as 150 miles per hour, tore the roof off of the Hobby Lobby building and severely damaged the neighboring Jimmy John's and Maurices, a women’s clothing store.
Robert B. Aikens and Associates, owners of the shopping center, held a grand opening celebration to officially acknowledge the completion of the new Hobby Lobby building and an adjacent retail store called Five Below on March 16.
"First we had to start with clearing the site and then there were inspections to things that were destroyed, like the water pipes. The we had to get the new drawings from Hobby Lobby and going through the approval process. There were no roofs and just a few walls from the former Hobby Lobby, Jimmy John's and Maurices," said Michelle Shafir, a senior retail leasing specialist with Robert. B. Aikens & Associates LLC, when asked why it took nearly two years to complete the rebuilding.
Jimmy John's relocated across the street to the Marathon gas station while Maurices now occupies a new larger store in the Pine Ridge center.
Shafir arrived in Gaylord right after the tornado and calls this one of the most important projects she has ever worked on.
"For the families and the companies and more importantly for the community, we are back. The community has been so supportive. My heart is full and I am so excited to be able to thank them personally," she said.
As a tribute to the center's resilience, photos of the old building, the tornado wreckage and construction progress will be displayed in a storefront window.
A brand new 9,636-square foot Five Below store is joining the center. Five Below is a chain of specialty discount stores that prices most of its products at $5 or less, plus a smaller assortment of products priced up to $25.
Shafir said the company already had a store in Traverse City.
"That store was doing so well that they identified Gaylord as their next market," she added.
"This is a store designed for teens and tweens (10 to 15 years old). We have everything from room decor to tech merchandise to candy to games," added store manager Anna French.
The store is designed so that the younger shoppers can come in by themselves or shop with an older friend, sibling or other family member.
"We have people on up to 99 who come in here," French said.
Subscribe Check out our latest offers and read the local news that matters to you
French said the store currently has about 25 employees. She grew up downstate but lived in Gaylord for about 15 years before moving back down there last year.
"I got a job and got promoted and then came back up here. This is like a homecoming for me and I am glad to be back in Gaylord," she said.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Main Street tornado recovery nearly complete as rebuilt shopping center opens in Gaylord
