Refurbished exterior helps Gordon Food Service manager move on from tornado
GAYLORD — Mark Carson will remember a lot of things about last May 20 because that is when an EF3 rated tornado with winds that reached 150 miles per hour touched down in Gaylord at about 3:45 p.m.
Carson is the store manager for the Gordon Food Service outlet in Gaylord.
"There were storms warnings at the beginning of the day so I think we all knew we were going to get storms at some point," he recalled. "Of course I don't think anyone expected a tornado."
About five minutes before the tornado roared down M-32 Carson was in the parking lot assisting a customer.
"It just started to sprinkle and we could hear thunder. I began to walk back into the store and then my phone went off (with a tornado warning). When I walked in everyone's phone was going off," said Carson.
"I walked back outside and I looked to my right and I could see circulation and debris up high. I didn't see a funnel," he continued. "I went back in and told everyone you will probably want to stay in the store. About 15 seconds later the windows started to break."
Fortunately, Carson said there were no injuries but a lot of damage was done to the store and the vehicles in the parking lot, including his own.
"The big thing was it was total destruction everywhere and I thought it might be a long time before we could open again," he added.
Carson said the store was closed on Friday and Saturday but reopened on Sunday morning.
"The best thing about this company is we had so much help from not only our team, but others who came from Traverse City and Alpena to help us clean up," he said.
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In the immediate aftermath, Carson was concerned about all of the perishable items in the store.
"We made the decision right away to get our refrigeration trucks here and my district manager secured a generator in Detroit," Carson said.
Everyone pitched in and took everything out of the coolers and moved it into the refrigerated trucks Carson said, adding "we lost very little product."
The store had plywood installed to replace the damaged windows. Recently, a complete remodeling of the outside has been completed and it has made a difference.
"Now we look more inviting. We still get some people who come and in say they didn't know we were open," Carson said.
Now that the outside of the store is taken care of Carson said a remodeling of the store's interior will start on April 1.
"We will switch to a full-service format that will include a deli, we will make our own juice and other food items," said Carson.
The expansion will also mean an increase in employment at the store.
"We will probably double our staff when everything is completed," Carson said.
He said nobody lost their job because of the storm, noting that anyone who was scheduled to work that day and the day after received compensation for those days.
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The interior remodeling is expected to be completed sometime in the summer, added Carson.
Based in Wyoming outside of Grand Rapids, privately-held Gordon was started in 1897 and provides food service products to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates 170 stores in the U.S.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Refurbished exterior helps Gordon Food Service manager move on from tornado
