THE owner of a carpet shop which was torched by rioters in August has spoken of his delight after it reopened for business.
Tony Harris, 47, was left devastated when the Woodford Carpet Shop on Woodford Green High Road was petrol bombed during the wave of disorder which engulfed the capital last summer.
It has taken five months to get the shop open again, and Mr Harris says it is only the support of the local community that kept him going.
He added: “It’s been hard but I always knew if we kept going there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. I was determined that we would get the shop open again, and here we are.
“I have had customers wait until we reopened to have their carpets done, when they could easily have just gone elsewhere.
“I have had other carpet dealers in the area letting us use their show rooms, their samples, taking deliveries. It’s amazing.”
Mr Harris had planned a celebration to mark the opening of the shop, but eventually opted to reopen without any fanfare.
“We will be offering 20percent off all our carpets for the first few months by way of thanks,” he said. “But I’ve just been too busy to plan the grand reopening day that we wanted.”
Despite applying for a share of the riot compensation funds made available to traders affected by the riots, Mr Harris says he has yet to even hear back about his claim.
“I think the people who benefited most from that fund were the insurance companies,” he said. “I doubt we’ll ever hear back.
“We are probably out of pocket to the tune of about £15,000 – that’s just what we have had to pay to get up and running again, never mind lost revenue.
“My flat was also damaged in the fire so I had to refurbish that as well.
“It feels like we have been digging ourselves out of a hole, but we had a bit of money in the bank and our bank manager has been very understanding and helpful.
“Thankfully Woodford Green is a really good community with a lot of people with big hearts.
“Everyone has been really supportive and that kept us going.
“It feels great to be back in business.”
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