Owning a business is never easy, but on occasion something happens that can push even the strongest owners to the breaking point.
As if the shutdowns and diminished customer base during the pandemic hadn’t been enough, the unthinkable happened at The Vintage Market Home store in Wyandotte.
In late February, owners Angela Guzzardo and Rina Belanger noticed a horrible smell inside their store, 144 Sycamore. They quickly discovered what they referred to as an “explosion of water and grease” filling up their basement.
Most of the merchandise that was in storage at the The Vintage Market Home’s basement was damaged by a flood in late February.
“Although we have had other issues in the past with our basement, we were told those were resolved and was told it was safe to keep our inventory down there,” Guzzardo said. “We found out quickly that was not true.”
They discovered that their basement was full of water and all of their inventory, collected over the past 10 years, was floating in sewage, grease and drain water.
Unlike a typical store selling new items that usually can be replaced fairly easily, The Vintage Market buys and sells antiques and one-of-a-kind items.
“Everything that was in the basement was collected over the years for our Traveling Market and inventory for our store,” Guzzardo said.
They had four antique couches that were used for their photo booths, couches Guzzardo said cannot be replaced. They had tents, tables, antique doors and salvage pieces they brought back from Brimfield, Massachusetts.
Other items included boxes of hardwood flooring for a project they were working on, various T-shirts they sold, and all of their invoices for their Traveling Market.
The store’s basement, which contained approximately $30,000 in merchandise, was full of sewage, grease and drain water.
“We lost all of our holiday decorations, all our Christmas trees, all our signage for our store and our markets,” Guzzardo said. “That just scratches the surface. We itemized over $23,000 in inventory. Not one thing could be salvaged. We felt completely defeated.”
A final tally of damaged or destroyed items showed that they lost close to $30,000 in inventory.
“As if that was not bad enough, the smell from what we now know was grease and sewage forced us to close the doors for close to a week, losing more income for our small business,” Guzzardo said.
But it turned out that the closure was more than just a week.
“The problem continued over the next couple weeks,” Guzzardo said. “We had to get a dumpster to throw out everything that was in our basement and ultimately it forced us to close the doors. We could not continue there with the stench and water rising up the stairs on a daily basis.”
The business that Guzzardo and Belanger are in is different from many others in that numerous other people depend on them to sell their products. They provide a platform for small businesses to showcase their goods and to shine — to do what they do best.
“So to close our doors not only hurts the two of us deeply, but it affects hundreds of small businesses,” Guzzardo said. “We do what we do for the love of small businesses.”
Flood-damaged merchandise is crammed into a trash bin outside The Vintage Market Home store in Wyandotte.
The irony in all this is that The Vintage Market Home store managed to survive a global pandemic, one that forced many businesses to close their doors for good, yet a flood appeared to be their downfall.
They looked out the window to see all their flood-damaged merchandise crammed into a dumpster — their dream having turned into a nightmare.
But just as things were at their bleakest, the tide began to turn.
“One of our vendors, Robin Brown, took to social media and started a GoFundMe page for us,” Guzzardo said. “We were brought to tears by it. It was a lovely gesture from her and the way the community came together to support us was amazing.”
Within just a matter of a few days, almost $8,000 had been raised through the campaign. It was clear that Guzzardo and Belanger had friends — lots and lots of friends, including officials from neighboring communities.
Rina Belanger (left) and Angela Guzzardo are moving their business to Trenton and calling it The Vintage Market Mercantile.
“The phone calls we have received from other city officials asking us to come set up in their city was so humbling, the other small businesses reaching out to us with support, offering up space in their buildings for us, and whatever else we needed,” Guzzardo said. “We quickly realized that with the love and support of this Downriver community we were going to continue with the small dream of ours. No way were we throwing in the towel.”
Guzzardo and Belanger quickly found what they believe to be the perfect space to relocate, just down the road in Trenton, at 2710 W. Jefferson.
“It has come full circle for us considering it’s where The Vintage Market started almost 10 years ago, at The Cultural Center,” Guzzardo said. “Being a resident of the city for 21 years and belonging to St. Joseph Parish right around the corner, I am considering it a blessing in disguise.”
The business has decided to go in a different direction with this move, opening what Guzzardo referred to as an “upscale farmhouse mercantile store without the upscale price tags.”
“We have been welcomed with open arms by all the Trenton businesses — All About Grace, Promenade Artisan Foods, and RW & Co. Gifts (and Decor),” Guzzardo said.
The building that formerly housed The Perfect Dress store in Trenton will soon become the new home of The Vintage Market Mercantile.
But moving to Trenton doesn’t mean the business is abandoning Wyandotte.
“The city of Wyandotte has been so wonderful to us, in no way are we saying goodbye,” Guzzardo said. “We will continue to host the Wyandotte Farmers Market every Thursday from May through October, and as soon as we find a perfect fit, we will be back in Wyandotte, as well.”
Guzzardo and Belanger will be pulling double duty in that they will also host the Trenton Farmers Market, which will be held the first Monday of each month, from May through October, at the Trenton Cultural Center.
Both locations will feature food trucks, produce vendors, artisan vendors, treat vendors and more.
So despite the misfortunes they experienced last month in Wyandotte, rather than give up, the business is going in the other direction by expanding. Guzzardo said she and her business partner are currently researching the possibility of another home for The Vintage Market Home in downtown Monroe.
“The money that was gifted to us from the GoFundMe will be used to get our stores back up and running as soon as possible,” she said. “It will help us get our inventory built back up for our Traveling Markets, which already has taken a huge hit due to COVID.”
Guzzardo said she and Belanger have been overwhelmed by the amount of community support they received after the flood they experienced.
The Vintage Market Mercantile, which will be located at 2710 W. Jefferson in Trenton, will hold its grand opening on May 1.
“If anything, we have learned that this community has so much love for small businesses and so much kindness and such big hearts,” she said. “And we promise to pay that forward as much as we can.”
Look for The Vintage Market Mercantile to make its debut in Trenton with a grand opening celebration on May 1.
