Some Five Points businesses left high and dry while others got their feet wet in Thursday’s storms

After the Midlands was walloped with two days of heavy rain some businesses in Five Points were left high and dry, in a good way, while others are still dealing with water that leaked through their doors Thursday evening.

The National Weather Service reported 2.5 inches of rain fell Thursday in a matter of hours, according to totals gathered at the Hamilton-Owens Airport, with another 1.36 inches falling at Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

Some of that rain made its way into Mad Vapes along Santee Avenue, where Assistant Manager Todd Cooper on Friday said employees had to vacuum water out of the alternative smoke shop Thursday night.

Although Cooper said there hadn’t been a decrease in business because of the heavy rains and flooding, customers were “in-and-out” shopping Friday instead of enjoying the store’s laid-back atmosphere.

“If people come in, they are in-and-out and that’s not what our store is designed to do,” Cooper said. “Our store is set up to be a welcoming atmosphere where you can sit and talk and enjoy yourself.”

After recently having a drainage pipe fixed that had caused the store to flood from the inside the last time there was flooding in Five Points, Cooper said this time water came in through the front.

“It just happened so quick last night,” he said. “The floodgates just didn’t stand up.”

Meanwhile, Cooper’s down-the-road neighbor Paige Stein, assistant manager of Vestique women’s clothing store, said she put sandbags down Thursday night and water didn’t make its way in the store.

Vestique stayed dry while flooding soaked other parts of Five Points. Water mostly collected on the opposite side of Five Points by Harper’s restaurant, but Harper’s did not have flooding problems.

But that doesn’t mean Vestique is immune to flooding.

“A couple of months ago it stormed really bad and it flooded to the first rack and caused some damage,” Stein said. “A few maxi-dresses got wet because the bottoms touch the floor.”

Dean Ellison, owner of Gentleman’s Closet, also along Saluda Avenue, said he and his neighbors were spared from flooding and business was going on as usual.

“The drainage was fantastic,” Ellison said. “Everybody on my block is high and dry. The landlord put a new roof on last year, and we are sitting in high cotton. That’s the big bucks.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Some Five Points businesses left high and dry while others got their feet wet in Thursday’s storms."