Photo by Emma Delk Zambito Flooring America Owner Ricky Zambito holds a flooring sample available at the business’s temporary location at 3150 Jacob Street following the June 14 flash flooding.

WHEELING — Zambito Flooring America has opened its doors at a temporary location at 3150 Jacob St., following the June flash flooding that destroyed all of the inventory at its Triadelphia location.

Owner Ricci Zambito said the business is back to regular operations at the temporary location, with customers welcome to visit the building to view samples and displays. The company is also taking orders and performing flooring installations.

“If anyone calls us, we’ll come right to their front door with samples,” Zambito said. “I’ve got all my crews out installing, and we’ve been working for the past three to four weeks.”

Zambito witnessed the “tidal wave” of 8 to 10 feet of water that hit the business’s Triadelphia location the night of June 14. He recalled the water rising to 14 to 15 feet within 15 minutes and added there “was not much you could do” to prepare for the damage the water would cause.

“Nothing was running through my mind at that point except, ‘I have to get the heck out of here,'” Zambito said. “I did run inside the building to move some stuff up to chest level, and when I got back outside the store, the water was already just below my knees. Within four to five minutes, the water was consuming Route 40, so I just got in my Jeep, put it in mud mode and drove.”

Zambito returned to the building the next morning at 6 a.m. and saw the “war zone” the flooding had caused.

“That morning, before anything was touched, it was disheartening to see people’s homes completely ripped away,” Zambito said. “Everything that people worked for, their homes and their belongings, was lost.”

Zambito Flooring, which has operated in the valley for more than 40 years, lost all of its stock, sold goods, displays and computers in the flooding. Zambito estimated that the business incurred a loss of over $500,000 due to the flooding.

Further repairs were needed for the building, as another house that came loose from its foundation during the flooding struck the side of the building. Zambito added that the business’s warehouse was “blown out” by the water and also required repairs.

The first two weeks after the flooding were spent removing more than 6,000 gallons of mud and water from the business. Zambito said that more than 60 volunteers assisted employees in cleaning up the building daily during the first week after the flooding.

“It’s been cool to see people in the valley just taking care of our own and coming together,” Zambito said. “I’ve tried to be a firm believer that we should try to support as many programs as we can as sponsors, whether that be youth sports or local events, so it was cool to see all those people that we’ve given to in the past to come show up for us after the flooding.”

Zambito thanked the generosity of 3150 Jacob Street owners Nick Sparachane, Bruce Wilson and Mike Baker for being “guardian angels” and providing the business a place to operate until it gets back on its feet. Zambito hopes to return to the Triadelphia location by the end of August.

Zambito estimated that the Triadelphia building was at 60% in its recovery progress, with the building in its “final phase” of dry out. Rewiring is currently being performed on the building, as well as masonry work on the side of the building that was hit by the home.

“It’s a slower process than I expected, but we’ve been getting things fixed up,” Zambito said. “I need to get drywall and paint work done, and then get displays back in there. We also need to put flooding down, but I think that’s one thing we can do quickly.”

Zambito Flooring is also lending assistance to any flood victims by providing special discounted pricing for floor installations and products. Zambito said donors to the business helped provide the funding to do this, as well as the store, “wanting to give back to the community.”

“We put aside money for flood victims because there were people hit by the flooding in Triadelphia, Valley Grove and Woodsdale that don’t have flood insurance, so we want to do what we can to give back,” Zambito said. “Even though we’re treading water right now and aren’t completely back on our feet, we want to help out the best we can.”

Zambito encourages customers to contact the company at 305-547-1800. He added that the business can still do “anything that’s needed” for customers.

“We just want to let people know that we are here, and we’re OK,” Zambito said. “We want to keep helping people in the meantime. We’re stoked to be a part of the community, and we just want to get back up on our feet as quickly as possible.”