Trek Bicycles on Rodney Parham was just one of several Arkansas businesses hit by a deadly EF3 tornado on March 31st of last year, which tore a path through Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Wynne Arkansas, leaving behind severe damage and at least five people dead.
"When the tornado hit, the two front doors were blown out the back wall, and probably part of our inventory was blown out that hole as well... we lost all inventory immediately," said Shane Wolfe, a salesperson at Trek.
Employees at Trek described the devastation from that day, including Anita Abarca, who was at the store when the tornado struck.
"All the phones went on, 'Tornado Warning,' and we were like, 'Oh, it's Arkansas, just another warning, so we were like, okay, just keep an eye on the weather, keep an eye on the outside.'"
Shane Wolfe was at home the day the tornado touched down but remembers the moment that he learned the business had been hit.
"I think of all things, I was watching 'The Six Million Dollar Man,'" Shane said, "I heard the tornado sirens going off and I switched it over to regular TV and it showed a picture of our store with the ceiling blew off, so it was kind of surreal."
Anita said, "I remember my co-worker Jacob Hendrix saying 'Is that debris on the sky?"
"They saw what they thought were birds," Shane added. "Jacob told Blaine, 'Man it's weird to have the birds like that over there,' but it wasn't, it was shingles off roofs that were circling and then they started to see plywood, then they saw the funnel cloud. So they had 10 or 15 seconds to take cover."
Anita says she was terrified during the tornado, and though the impact has become somewhat blurred in the year since, she still remembers one thing.
"The only thing I remember in the 20 seconds of the loud tornado is looking at the blue color because I was hugging my dad, and he had a blue jacket on, so I closed my eyes, and whenever I opened my eyes I saw the blue."
The impact lasted just seconds — but the destruction was total.
"It was shocking, to say the least. I mean like, in all reality, when I drove back up there they had security and they wouldn't let us get close. But when he finally let me walk up there it was jaw-dropping." Shane remembered, "Every car that was in the parking lot was totaled and we had over 250 bikes on the floor. Everything was gone in an instant."
Anita added, "We were all very scared, but at least I had my father there. I was hugging my father. I remember my dad got his phone out and he started recording. He recorded me first, he turned the phone back, and he recorded himself saying, 'Estamos bien, gracias el Dios,' which means we are fine, thanks to God, and sent that video to my mom."
In the months that followed, there was plenty of uncertainty, but the employees say they were happy to have the backing of their friends and family, as well as a company that understood the gravity of the situation.
"John Burke called our manager and said, 'Hey Blaine, just wanted to let you know I am so glad everyone is safe. We're going to take care of you. Tell your staff to take the next three or four weeks off and spend them with your family,'" Shane said.
"The days after that obviously we were at home." Anita said, "We were just waiting
for calls, waiting for messages, waiting for what's up, what is going to happen next. Two months of not working, but Trek took care of us. And even though we lost the place we worked, we kept our job, and Trek kept us, and they treated us well."
Levi Savage was not with Trek at the time of the storm but says they were busy while the store was being relocated.
"We had the van down at the river trail trying to work on bikes and support the community as much as we can even though we didn't physically have a store," he said.
And even though they say they love the new space, it is still hard to remember what was lost.
"That store was originally the Chainwheel Bicycle Shop, which was acquired by Trek. Well I went to work there in 1996 and I worked there until 2004," said Shane. "I didn't really want to go back there with it torn up like that. It had a pretty special place for me."
"Everything happens for a reason, and this place is way better. That's how I see it," said Anita. "It's more organized. It's smaller, for sure, but it feels good."
Shane added, "We've got a nicer, newer store, even though that one had a lot of sentimental value and it had been there for so long, it's been really good. I mean, our store is new and modern. They give us all the tools we need to be successful."
Anita says she is still shaken by the storm and feels anxious now any time she hears of a severe storm or tornado alert near her.
"This could be us! I could be that bike that is right there! I could be that television that got blown away like ten feet, and it's now it's pieces and not a television because it was fine a couple of minutes before. And we were fine, and we're still fine. Yeah. It's traumatic. But hey, now I take those warnings more seriously." said Anita.
Still, she feels lucky that she came through the tornado with only the experience and a change of job location.
"I will be always thankful for that, because some people lost their jobs, lost a lot of stuff. And even though we lost the place we work, we kept our job."
And she feels thankful as well for the perspective she gained, despite the destruction.
"Después de la tormenta, siempre a salir el sol, which means, 'After the storm, the sun comes back again."
