- Railroad Square businesses marked their tornado recovery with Resilience Day Saturday.
- The area sustained immense damage from the Tallahassee tornadoes on May 10, 2024.
- Watch the video to hear why businesses need the support and why they have such a steadfast commitment to this area.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A community that looked very different just over a year ago, following the Tallahassee tornadoes on May 10. Businesses are hosting a Resilience Day marking their recovery journey following the damage.
Rebuilding and rebounding, that's been the theme of Railroad Square businesses over the last year since the devastation following the Tallahassee tornado, so marking this journey with Resilience Day makes perfect sense.
"I think it's it's a reminder of of just life," said Gregg Pla, owner of Talquin Trading Company. "You know, things are going to happen in your life, things that you don't want to happen, things that you can't even dream of, but they're going to happen and I think the the biggest part is just picking it up and moving on."
That's exactly what Pla did, relocating his business to a new building in the area after the old one was totaled by that severe weather.
"It's hard to find that positivity or to find that that strength, but this is what I do," said Pla. "This is what I love,e and there is no other option for me, so it's sweep it up, pick it up, rebuild, and here we are moving on."
It's a commitment to this community that runs deep for many people here.
"I grew up here, so I've just been coming to Railroad Square for my entire life," said Anna Williams, an employee at The Other Side Vintage. "So it's really been just like a place for me that has always been there to go shopping or just hang out."
Williams said supporting the Square matters so much because there's nowhere else like it.
"I love the area, it's a beautiful area, it just feels really awesome to have a space in Tallahassee that is dedicated to art and just community and vintage stuff," said Ellie Lajeunesse, another employee at The Other Side Vintage.
Pla said its eccentricity is one the reasons he believes the community has come such a long way in their recovery journey in just a year.
"I feel that that there's something special here and they want to be a part of it, and so I think people have worked hard to get back to that point," said Pla.
These businesses said the community support has been consistent since that tornado struck just over a year ago, help they hope will continue as they move forward.
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