Community Unites to Help Clean Up Goshen Grocery Store After Fire

by Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)

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San Marcos grocery and restaurant Goshen fire cleanup volunteers

Dozens of volunteers showed up Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007, to help the owners of the San Marcos grocery and restaurant in Goshen. The family-owned business was destroyed by fire. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

(WSBT) Fire investigators in Goshen say they may never know what caused a fire last week at a family-owned grocery store.

It happened at the San Marcos grocery and restaurant on South Main.

Investigators say the official cause is undetermined. But, they know it started in an office area.

The owners are already rebuilding with help from volunteers.

The cleanup process at the combination grocery and restaurant has to be completed before the rebuilding process can begin. And that's what dozens of volunteers helped work on Thursday morning.

They did everything from carrying out spoiled meat and food to removing a lot of fire debris.

“This has been a real downtown effort,” cleanup organizer Jeremy Stutsman said. “We've had multiple groups that are working downtown — city officials, and downtown owners, and then many people from the colleges and local churches."

The owners say words can't describe what the volunteer cleanup efforts mean to them.

“He is very thankful and he is very happy about it,” said Oscar Ponce, the son of the owner. “He's saying that he never thought that it was going to be this way, so he's very happy about it."

Those helping out with the cleanup say the effort shows the true spirit of the city, helping out and lending a hand when needed.

“It’s interesting: Everybody in there has a mask on, and you can't tell if they're from Goshen College, or the local business community. You can't tell if they are Hispanic or Anglo,” said volunteer David Schrock-Shenk. “Everybody is coming together to help out a place that we love.”

“We organized, a group of us came together from the college and decided we were coming this morning to lend our support to the community, since we believe in a culture of service,” explained Goshen college student Brent Handfield.

"I think this just shows we are all kind of neighbors here and we see each other as part of the fabric of the downtown,” said Myron Bontrager, of the Electric Brew Coffee Shop. “This is really great to see."

The owners did not have insurance, and the store was their main source of income.

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