Nashville outdoor, fitness retail keeps its head above water
SNEWS checks in with Nashville-area retailers to find out how they have fared with the tragic flooding this week.
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Despite tragic consequences from the flooding in Nashville earlier this week, a few outdoor and fitness retailers SNEWS® checked in on said they still had their heads above water.
At outdoor retailer Cumberland Transit, flood waters didn’t touch the building but only two blocks away cars sat under 4 feet of water, co-owner Allen Doty told SNEWS. However, homes of several staff members had water damage.
“We have one staff member whose townhouse is ruined, and three of our people lost the HVAC systems outside of their homes,” said Doty. “One staff guy couldn’t get out of his neighborhood and was isolated for four days because three bridges were closed.”
At Fitness Systems retail shop, Jon Frazier, vice president of operations, told SNEWS, “Thank the lord, we are not affected.” The Nashville store in the Brentwood area south of downtown is one of three in Tennessee.
In other areas of Tennessee, including Memphis, we heard only of terrible weather but no damage at retailers. So far damage has been estimated at close to $1.5 billion and the famous Grand Ole Opry House music venue could be closed for months.
While Doty said he was short on staff during the flood, he said he never closed the store, but with warnings about water quality, everyone is drinking filtered water.
“We’ve sold a lot of rain gear,” Doty said, “that’s for sure.”
–Therese Iknoian and Marcus Woolf
