Fund Launched for Maryland Store Damaged in Flood

Craig Coyne Jewelers was one of the Ellicott City, Md. businesses severely damaged when six inches of rain fell in two hours and caused a flash flood Saturday.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

“The response is nothing short of amazing,” Craig Coyne Jewelers founder Sam Coyne said of his local community after a flash flood destroyed many downtown businesses. In addition to his state and local governments “aggressively taking action,” an industry friend is helping to raise funds to repair his flooded store.

Ellicott City, Md.--The community is coming together to help a Maryland jeweler whose store was severely damaged in a recent flash flood.

On Saturday, six inches of rain fell in just two hours in Ellicott City to create what the National Weather Service called an “off-the-charts” event--a flash flood that resulted in two deaths, many demolished businesses and about 120 swift-water rescues.

One of those businesses was Craig Coyne Jewelers on Main Street in downtown Ellicott City. Now, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise funds to help the business get back on its feet.

Lori Gadola from Kelim Jewelry Design is the one who started the fund. She met founder Sam Coyne when the store started carrying her line.

On the GoFundMe page she wrote, “(Sam) has been very generous to various community causes that involve health, hunger, education and domestic violence issues. I feel it is time the community gives back to help him during this very tough time.”

The jewelry store opened in 2000 but had just moved into its location on Main Street in 2013. Before moving in, the entire space was remodeled, a project that took six months to complete and $50,000 to finish the interior.

Now, just a few years later, all of that work has been undone.

Coyne told National Jeweler that he was able to get into the store on Wednesday for the first time since the flood for just 10 minutes to assess the damage.

“I don’t believe anything will be salvageable,” he said.

There’s a tree pinned to the front door inside that was forced over the back deck and through the back door into the store, silt that is “feet thick,” water marks that reach the ceiling and a buckled floor on the second level due to the force of the water, among other things.

According to Coyne, his biggest concern is how long it will take to get the business up and running again. Local officials currently are working on a plan, but there’s no telling how long it could be--months and years both are being thrown around, he added.

More immediately he is concerned about serving customers, which he can’t do until he gets into the vault. Though it’s intact and standing, with all customer jewelry secure inside, it can’t be opened. It requires two keys and a combination, but the keys washed away in the storm.

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Another issue that has come up is that of data.

On the morning before the flood, the store’s server was taken to the first floor to cool down during the heat wave. The back-up hard-drive also was brought to the store and connected to conduct a back-up before opening Sunday, so it was lost in the flood as well.

Though they have a second drive off-premises, the team still will have to rebuild at least seven months of business, Coyne said.

When asked what the funds might be used for, Coyne said that it “really depends on timing.”

If they’re given access to the store soon, it will go toward clean up, freshening up and mold removal. If not, it could help pay the mortgage or the insurance deductible.

Meanwhile, businesses around the jeweler are being demolished. Coyne said that many of the small shops around him already were having trouble competing with e-commerce and he’s not sure how many of them will reopen now.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.