REFUGIO
Angela Piazza/apiazza@vicad.com
A Little “Britt” of Heaven and Britt’s Floral owner Dana Alsop arranges a bouquet in her floral shop.
REFUGIO BUSINESSES BOUNCE BACK FROM STORM BY LAURA GARCIA lgarcia@vicad.com
REFUGIO — The roof was long gone from the 1938 gas station. The walls had caved in, and there was a foot of murky water on the floor. Many of the trinkets and knickknacks inside didn’t survive. “Hurricane Harvey came by and took my business away from me,” said Jeff Brittain, who had run an “antiques, collectibles and good junk” store off U.S. 77 for the past 15 years. A big chair outside, which over the years had become a tourist attraction, blew away, and a leg broke off. In the months after Harvey, he found out that the little town of just over a couple thousand people missed that oversized chair. 112
DISCOVER 2018
“Just going to H-E-B, everyone would ask me about it,” he said. “It became a symbol of repairing Refugio.” Brittain was able to reopen his store in March inside of a pre-fab building on the property and now mainly sells home decor imported from Mexico and yard art. He estimates about 90 percent of his business comes from travelers passing through wanting to take a little bit of Texas with them. He says his best-seller is still the metal dachshunds, but locals also come by for his wife’s goat milk soaps and for fresh, free-range eggs by the dozen. He retired after more than 30 years in the oil field industry, and the store had been a way for him to keep busy.
“The best part of the whole thing is meeting people who come through the front door,” he said. The old metal door at the gas station used to have pictures of travelers who came by to pose for photos in the chair. The tourists came from all over the world, including Canada, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Germany. That door is gone, but he keeps the photos in an envelope until he finds a way to display them again. Brittain said he feels fortunate to be able to bring his business back. Many residents lost their jobs and homes because of Harvey. Down the main drag in town, at another business ,an employee was hanging a
bright red sign outside a cafe that read “Now Open.” Other restaurants remain closed, and roofs all over town are covered with tarps. “Even after a year, we’re still feeling the effects,” said Kathy Franklin, office manager at the county’s chamber of commerce. “It’s just a slow process.” Refugio offers other places to visit. BEYOND THE GLO The women’s boutique and tanning salon in downtown Refugio offers the latest fashion in clothing and accessories, including specialty brands with a cute Southern flair. Beyond the Glo was opened six years ago by Refugio native Sierra Mascorro. “I wanted something fun,” she said. “I wanted
