asian food: Blown away After tornado, market’s future is still in doubt By KATHRYN REM Published Wednesday, June 21, 2006 The March 12 tornadoes destroyed Springfield’s largest ethnic market, Asian International Grocery, and the owners aren’t saying whether they’ll reopen. “It’s been a paperwork nightmare,” said Dave Morton, who helped his wife, Rowena, run the retail store at 3408 Cockrell Lane. The mezzanine-level office inside the building was demolished along with statements, receipts and tax forms now needed for insurance companies and other regulators. “All day I deal with paperwork,” said Morton, a retired aviation mechanic. The couple had been in business just over a year, during which they expanded the building to 9,000 square feet. In addition to a wide selection of Asian food items, the market also carried fresh, frozen and packaged goods used in Middle Eastern, Russian, Mexican, African and other cuisines. They leased the building from Mary and Quyen Nguyen, who previously ran an Asian market at that location. On March 12, the Mortons closed up at about 6:30 p.m. and drove home to Tallula. They didn’t realize their southwest-side business was in the path of a tornado until they tried to get to work the next morning. “We couldn’t get near our road because of the (downed) telephone poles. We found a back way and the police let us through when we told him which store we were with. The officer said, ‘You don’t have to worry about that store. It’s gone.’” The couple was stunned when they saw the damage. “Mr. Battery was inside our building,” said Morton about the business that had been next door. “We would have been dead if we had been in there.” The roof and walls were peeled back and the structure was filled with water and debris. Around-the-clock security cameras were under water. Even if they had not been ruined, Morton said he’s not sure he would want to watch tapes showing the destruction. “I was in shock for three days,” said Morton, recalling the business he and his wife had devoted themselves to. The only salvageable item inside was a walk-in cooler, but health department regulations required the couple to discard the $50,000 worth of seemingly good frozen food in it because of the possibility of contamination. They also had to destroy all the other food items, including canned goods. Morton said that if he did go back into business, he would like to buy rather than lease. But he finds Springfield’s southwest-side business property costly; complying with health and building codes adds to the expense. Besides, he said, he’s enjoying the freedom of not having to work long hours in the store. “We don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said. “This thing just about killed us.” UPDATE: Little World Mart, which sells Asian food as well as other merchandise, is open. The store at 2936 S. MacArthur Blvd. had been closed for six weeks because of tornado damage. Owner Dinah Hu said a large storefront window shattered, the roof was torn off, a rear storage shed was demolished and an apartment above the store was water-damaged. Some delicate merchandise, including china, was broken and some food had to be discarded. Hu and her husband, Louis Lu, left the store on March 12 about 20 minutes before the tornado struck. When they got to their Chatham home, Hu said she couldn’t keep her eyes off the heavens. “I had a feeling. I felt something happened. I saw something special in the sky,” said the native of Beijing, China. A few hours later, owners of a nearby business phoned the couple at home and told them their store had been damaged. They drove back to Springfield to check it out. “Oh my goodness,” said Hu. “Everything was on the floor. Oh well, I said, we’ll just have to start rearranging again.” The couple had spent more than two years remodeling before opening Little World Mart a year ago. The business carries an assortment of fresh, frozen, refrigerated and packaged Asian foods. The telephone number is 528-2745. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Food editor Kathryn Rem can be reached at 788-1520 or kathryn.rem@sj-r.com.