Businesses reopen after being damaged by 2016 blaze

About nine months before the reopening of Ocean Chemists on Feb. 4, Oceanside firefighter Abigail Ohlsen roused her mother after hearing on her radio that a fire had broken out at 3122 Long Beach Road.

“She woke me up asking what the address was to Ocean Chemists, and we realized it was the building next to us,” said Linda Ohlsen, the drugstore’s manager, who has worked there for 30 years. “We jumped in our car and we came here.”

The owners of John’s Clothing Shop were already at the scene, after getting a call about the fire from a tenant in one of the building’s upstairs apartments. Flames were engulfing D&D Convenience Store — in between Ocean Chemists and John’s — as well as the living units above, and all they could do was watch. “To see the smoke and to see the store, kind of thinking … that they weren’t going to be able to stop this fire and that it was going to take down our store was tough to watch,” said Maria Ricciardi, a daughter of the owners of John’s.

The Oceanside Fire Department got the first call about the fire at 4:29 a.m. on April 25. Firefighters from Island Park, East Rockaway, Long Beach, Baldwin, Lynbrook, Freeport, Rockville Centre and Point Lookout also responded.

The fire appeared under control, and then more flames erupted, Ricciardi recalled. Kevin Klein, the current OFD chief of department and an assistant chief at the time, called it a major fire with the potential for injuries and loss of life. “The amazing part about that fire,” Klein said, “was that, with the exception of a little bit of extension into the building on either side, really the only thing that burned that day was on fire when we got there.”

When the fire was out, D&D Convenience Store was destroyed and the dozens of people living upstairs were homeless. The owners and workers at both adjacent buildings surveyed their businesses, and found significant smoke and water damage. The walls that the stores shared with D&D had to be replaced.

After occupying their stores for decades, Ocean Chemists and John’s Clothing Shop were forced to temporarily relocate a few blocks south on Long Beach Road. Ohlsen said that the location was smaller, so offsite storage was necessary. Ricciardi explained that her parents, Giovanni and Concetta, did not have all the supplies and equipment in the rented space that they had in the damaged store.

But after months of working with insurance and construction companies, the buildings were ready to reopen. Ocean Chemists moved back in on Dec. 23, and took about a month to fully restock the pharmacy before opening. The neighborhood drugstore, which has offered personal service for more than 50 years, was available to the public again, Ohlsen said.

“When customers come in, we know them by name, they know us by name,” Ohlsen said. “How’s your mom, how’s your dad, how’s your kids? … We really make it a point to try to individualize every customer and make them feel special, because they are special.”

John’s Clothing Shop was back in its original location by Jan. 1. “They’re tailors, so this is their life,” Ricciardi said of her parents. “This is the only life they know … so for them to get back to a normal routine and their normal store, it just made life a little bit easier for everyone.”

Because the two businesses experienced similar damage and remained neighbors during the months of relocation, Ohlsen said it was appropriate that both celebrated their grand reopenings on Feb. 4. “It felt kind of like we had family with us,” she said, “which was nice.”

Both had ribbon cuttings attended by Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino, Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, Assemblyman Brian Curran and members of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. Painted on the window of Ocean Chemists was the message, “We are back home.”

“It was great to see that the community came out and acknowledged the grand reopening,” Ricciardi said. “You can see that they were really into the the small businesses and helping the small businesses out.”