Aqua Vita, a neighborhood grocery store caught fire on April 30th and had to shut down to remodel. They are reopening this week. The Star interviewed the owner and who does he site as a stumbling block to reopen?  If the City of Tucson wants and needs more money for core services EXPAND the pie.

How hard would it be to help this guy recover quickly after his entire life has been shaken. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this guys quote was; “I couldn’t believe how helpful  the City of Tucson’s was in getting reopened and getting my staff back to work.” Doesn’t anyone else get it?

The Star talked with Aqua Vita owner Harmeet Singh about the store’s fire, closure and reopening:

Q. How much damage did the fire do?

A. About $400,000. The electrical system was gone, and the walk-in cooler was gone.

Q. How did you learn about the fire?

A. The Fire Department called me at 6 a.m. and woke me up and said, “Your store is on fire.” I was very surprised. The electrical system was more than five years old. Usually, this kind of electrical work goes for 30 to 40 years with no problem. We couldn’t figure out why this happened.

Q. Did it take longer to get ready to reopen than you expected?

A. Oh yeah, way longer. I expected it would be fixed in two to 2 1/2 weeks. With the insurance and the city of Tucson permitting, it took a lot longer.

Q. Was that frustrating?

A. Big time. But I didn’t have to deal with the permitting and the other stuff. The electrical contractor dealt with it. They worked with TEP (Tucson Electric Power Co.) to get the electrical equipment fixed.

Q. Did your insurance cover it all?

A. It partially covered the damage, but I still had to pay money out of my own pocket.

Q. Did you make any other changes?

A. We upgraded everything to 2010 city codes. . . . We installed energy-saving equipment – all the computers, water machines and a new water system. We had to replace the whole inventory in the store. We didn’t want to be selling three-month-old stuff to customers.

Q. Have you been profitable until now, and will you be profitable this year after the fire?

A. Before the fire, the business was going up every single year for the past three years, despite the recession. We have a good staff here. We provide better service to every single customer. People like shopping here. The fire will definitely hurt our profits, for sure, but we’re still hoping for a profit this year.