Monongahela business owners who suffered from a water main break in January received a second donation Friday from the Monongahela Historical Society.

Society President Laura Magone met with owners at Little City Coffee, where they each received a check for a little more than $900. Magone and historical society members raised the money through community donations.

It’s the second round of donations in less than two weeks. The historical society presented each business with a $1,000 check earlier this month.

Magone said churches, neighbors and community members continue to support the businesses after nearly a month of fundraising.

“We’re still taking donations,” Magone said. “We actually got a $500 check right after we donated to the businesses on Friday. We’ve had good support from people from all over.”

Two buildings sustained various degrees of damage from the Jan. 26 water-line break, forcing the closure of six businesses occupying them. Dusty’s Discounts and Tattoo Savior, on the corner of Main and Fourth streets, sustained the most damage and the owners continue to work toward reopening.

The other businesses — Little City Coffee, Lynda’s Main Street Salon, Julie’s Hair Haven and Zimmer Printing — have since reopened.

The flooding also affected two soon-to-open businesses — Wool and Wick and Ezzy Mart, though word on damage sustained in those locations remains unclear. Rabe’s Trading Post on Fourth Street also experienced a loss of business, as restricted parking on the street and damage to a nearby parking lot prevented customers from coming to the store.

The water-line break knocked out power and heating in the buildings for multiple days, forcing 12 tenants who live in units above the businesses to relocate while crews worked on repairs.

The tenants recently returned to their homes and to welcome them, the Monongahela Main Street Program donated gift cards and baskets for each household.

While most people affected by the flooding seem to have turned a corner, building damages and lost property continue to trouble business owners.

Tattoo Savior owner Dan Bires said moisture and water damage from the flooding forced an entire remodeling of his space.

“The whole place is torn apart,” Bires said. “They’ve ripped up the floor, removed drywall — it’s basically a total reset.”

Bires said while Pennsylvania American Water is liable for damages, the process has been long and arduous, and it’s been difficult to stay afloat.

FLOODED • A2 FROM A1 “We’re already over a month into this and it hasn’t gotten very far,” he said. “I don’t know how much longer I could make it, waiting to hear back from insurance. It’s been anything but an easy process.

“I’m very grateful to the historical society for what they’ve done. I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through the past few weeks without their help. I was able to buy food and pay off my mortgage this month with their help.”

In addition to space damage, Bi-res lost his most expensive piece of property to the flood — a laser tattoo removal machine valued at thousand of dollars.

“I was so close to paying it off too,” he said. “I only had four or five more payments. That’s what hurts the most about it.”

Bires hopes repairs on his store space are finished by April, adding that he’s staying faithful that he can remain in business until then.

“It’s a lot of work,” he said. “Drying everything out, restoring, repainting. I used to do that kind of work — I know it’s not a quick job. But hey, I put my faith in God and trust things will work out.”

Bires added that there’s still no heat in the shop, making it difficult to remove moisture from walls, floors and ceilings.

Zimmer Printing owner Tobias Provan said his store suffered less damage, but he worries about potential damage to basement walls. “When the flooding happened, water came through the walls. You could see spots where it came through,” he said. “So we’ll have to get it checked out to make sure there’s no structural damage.

“There’s also some things I haven’t been able to find. Papers, documents, other stuff. It’s been a little disorganized. Things got moved around.”

Provan said business has been steady since reopening, and he remains hopeful his neighboring business owners will have a full comeback.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said.

Magone said as the stores regroup, she hopes to throw a grand reopening for them in order to spark public interest.

“Keep an eye out for it,” she said.

To donate to the businesses, follow the link at mahs-pa.org/donations.