Hojun Choi
MONTPELIER — The devastating floods of July 2023 in Montpelier left most parts of downtown submerged under more than four feet of storm water, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Despite their collective pain, multiple owners of small businesses downtown said they remembered how their community came together.
Heading into the third anniversary of the historic flood, The Bridge caught up with four businesses that found a way to persevere.
Woodbury Mountain Toys
For 26 years, Karen Williams said her soul has been warmed by the sound of children oohing and pointing to their favorite action figures and dolls inside her shop on State Street.
Williams was heartbroken in early July 2023, when she came to her store to find many of the toys that brought so much joy into the space floating or under two feet of murky water.
“We had emptied a couple of the bottom shelves because we knew that it was raining,” Williams said. “We weren’t sure how bad it was going to be.”
When news reporters asked Williams if they could take photos of the damage, she said she declined.
“It’s not a good visual for anybody,” Williams said. “You don’t want to see sad toys.”
Despite the painful image in her mind and the tens of thousands of dollars she took in damage, Williams said she was inspired by the kindness of many residents in the days and weeks following the flood. She described how businesses helped their neighbors, and strangers stopped by to ask how they could pitch in.
While the needed repairs to her space were ongoing, Williams decided to reopen the store at a temporary location across the street.
After reopening in October 2023 and working out of the temporary spot, Williams completed the full move back to her original space — the same she had been at for more than two decades — in January earlier this year.
“It was tough, but we powered through it,” she said.
Williams said she feels the downtown business community has grown stronger from the hardship it faced in 2023.
In late-June, while speaking on her experiences about flood recovery, Williams couldn’t hold back her smile as a child’s voice rang through the store: “Come look over here guys — look over here!”
The Quirky Pet
Cindra Conison said her pet food store near the corner of State and Main streets was “totally destroyed” in the 2023 flood. She, like many of her fellow downtown storeowners, can point to exactly how high the water came up inside the property.
Conison said she initially underestimated how long it would take for her shop to be able to reopen.
“I thought, ‘Ah, I can open in two weeks,’” she recalled. “That was pure denial.”
Most of the interior of the store needed replacement, Conison said. She salvaged what she could of the fixtures and furniture inside and moved them to her home — along with her pandemonium of parakeets.
“None of us had any clue that we would take on that much water,” Conison said.
In addition to financial assistance for flood recovery from the city, Conison got flood insurance and a loan from the federal Small Business Administration to help get her business running again.
On Black Friday in 2023, after more than four months of hard work — with help from friends and family, as well as many Montpelier residents — The Quirky Pet reopened its doors, Conison said.
“This whole town was super supportive,” she said.
Today, Conison is glad she can again manage the storefront with her dog, Joshe, surrounded by the sound of her chatty flock of birds.
Still, she admits she gets anxious on days with heavy rain in the forecast.
“But now, I know what to do,” Conison said.
While downtown businesses are not without their struggles today, Conison said the area feels like it has recovered from the 2023 deluge. Flooding might hit the city again, but she’s confident that Montpelier will, again, come together.
North Branch Cafe
Lauren Parker, owner of the North Branch Cafe, said she her shop was largely spared from the 2023 flood that wreaked havoc across town. Parker lost everything inside the basement, but the cafe — located at the corner of Elm and State streets — did not take in water, she said.
That doesn’t mean she wasn’t spared from the collective pain that seeped throughout the city in the immediate aftermath of the flood.
“There were no cars. There were no people. Everyone was inside their shops ripping things apart,” Parker said. “It was a really hard time.”
Parker felt fortunate that she, with the help of family and friends, was able to reopen the cafe in about two weeks, while most of downtown was still bogged down by cleanup and repairs. The cafe became a place where residents could find a semblance of normalcy, Parker said.
“We were basically the place that stayed the same. It became a place that people could come and feel like before,” she added.
The experience drove her to look for ways she could continue playing a role in making the town more resilient to flooding. She created a “River Room,” where she houses a bookshelf with literature about rivers, flooding, and climate.
Twice a month, in the morning hours before she opens up North Branch Cafe, a group of residents meet for open discussions about flood management and river protection.
“The flood, even though it was horrible and shocking, also showed me what the Montpelier community actually is, and how much they love their town.”
Enna Cafe and Gelato
When the days-long downpour hit Montpelier in 2023, Shannon Bates was celebrating the two-year anniversary of the opening of Enna Cafe.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Bates adjusted by shifting the business to takeout and home delivery. By mid-2023, Bates said she felt like business at the cafe was picking up momentum, with a growing roster of regulars.
“Things were going great, it was getting busy, and the real summer season had just started,” Bates said.
But the flood was as unexpected as it was tragic, she said.
“It was hard. We didn’t really know at first. We were just trying to clean up and didn’t know what was salvageable and what was not,” Bates said.
Bates said she ended up with tens of thousands of dollars in damages from ruined food and kitchen equipment. While the flood was devastating, Bates said the thought of not reopening her cafe never crossed her mind.
Fortunately for her, some kitchen equipment that had been scheduled to arrive shortly before the flood was delayed, Bates said, sparing thousands of dollars in new hardware.
The cafe reopened in November that year, Bates said. She also expanded by purchasing a nearby gelato business called Chill, which was badly damaged by the flood and was facing permanent closure.
Although it took many more months for Enna to recover, Bates said she was heartened by how the community worked together following the floods to become more resilient.
Earlier this year, Bates opened a new seafood and butcher shop near Bailey Avenue and State Street. In a December 2025 interview with The Bridge, Bates said the space for the new business was designed with a focus on flood resiliency.
“Downtown is rebounding, but still we have work to do. I would say we are about half way there. The residents of Montpelier and the surrounding towns have been the key to the progress we have made,” Bates wrote in an email. “The fierce loyalty and unwavering support that they bring to our streets year after year, season after season is remarkable.”
