ROCK ISLAND, Illinois-- "Vintage Rose" antique shop and the comic book store "Tim's Corner" were ripped apart after an explosion on Monday, March 6th. Today, they're standing strong and side-by-side once again, thanks to the hard work and determination of their owners, Michelle Jeuring and Tim Cederoth.
Cederoth, who owns "Tim's Corner," considers his fellow local business owners family. But those family bonds were put to the test Monday as an explosion rocked his business. "The explosion hit, and it shattered the lights and they all came down," he sadly recounts to News 8.
The explosion, which the Rock Island Fire Marshal says was caused by propane, left the two business owners without buildings for their businesses.
Jeuring says she's in "absolute disbelief."
But today, it was a different story for both businesses. They've reopened, in new homes, but they're still neighbors. Both say they didn't think they would be able to pull it off. "Vintage Rose" and "Tim's Corner" have temporarily taken up shop in storage spaces, steps away from destruction.
"Somebody was on our side for sure," Cederoth says.
Jeuring agrees, "I don't know how else to explain it besides when one door closes, another one opens."
Neither store owner knows when or if they'll move back to their original storefronts. The Rock Island Fire Marshal estimates around $150,000 in structural damage.