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Grand Rapids community comes together after restaurants suffer losses from storm damage

Thousands were without power in Grand Rapids, Ohio, following storms that left businesses and homes damaged.

GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio — Home and business owners across Grand Rapids are hurting following the aggressive storm that took place on August 27.

Community members say the damage was extensive, from pieces of their roofing and siding flying off to downed trees in yards.

Many homeowners say they were left without power for hours. Homeowner Kevin Olman described what happened that night.

"We went to bed at about 11 o'clock and still didn't have power," Olman said. "We've heard a couple of different people speculate sometime around 2 o'clock in the morning. We woke up the air conditioning and the lights were on."

RELATED: 'It's been a while since we had this kind of storm': Cleanup efforts underway in Grand Rapids

He said part of the tree in their front lawn hit the front of their house.

"We lost this tree, part of the tree, and it landed against our home. It caused a lot of damage to our concrete with the large tree falling. We had debris all around our home. It looked like a warzone," Olman said.

Down the street at the Wildside Restaurant, the storm caused numerous issues including widespread power outages.

"Most of the town, the power went out and we experienced some flooding in the bar," said Wildside bar manager, Hannah Ludwig. "Our roof was damaged as well, so we're trying to get that fixed. All of our fridges went down, so we had to get rid of all of our food. That was a huge loss for us."

Ludwig said the storm caused the floor to flood, along with damage to the roof, and due to the intensity of the damage she said they had to close, which further hurt the business.

However, she said they aren't the only business that suffered, especially the night of the storms.

"We had people in the restaurant last night, so we had to figure that out. Our power went out at 6:30 and came back on at 1:00. So, we've just been cleaning out the fridges and then the insurance company is coming out to look at all the damage," Ludwig said.

Now, they start the repairs.

"It's kind of a big deal because even missing out on a couple of days, those sales are huge for the employees and the owner," Ludwig said. "People come out and then they get bummed out that we're not open."

RELATED: Bowling Green brush collection to begin early following storm damage

Olman said despite the storm, he's grateful no-one was hurt and that this provided a way for folks to connect.

"There's a lot of good that came out of this, too, and nobody was hurt as far as I know that we've heard throughout the community," said Olman. "It's unfortunate that sometimes these events are what can help each other out. We had late into the evening 25 people out here, hauling debris around, and we've helped other neighbors. We were able to have fellowship with others in the community and to help each other out. And as you can tell, there's no sign of a war here."

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