SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Monday’s flooding was an unbelievable sight for many in San Diego, including a popular flower shop.
Natalie Gill, the co-owner and founder of Native Poppy, waded up to their Mission Valley warehouse with her family and went to check on the building.
“The water line is at three and [a] half to four feet. And all of our products were floating by," Gill said. "So, I opened the door, and everything just rushed out in the street. And I saw all of our gifts and merchandise and supplies rushing by me out into the street."
Once the flood waters from the storm gushed out, Gill and others got a glimpse of the watery warehouse.
The warehouse is used for all of the business's production for big weddings and flower deliveries, according to Gill. She said they had two delivery vans parked in the warehouse, both totaled due to the floodwaters.
“This was nine days before our Valentine’s Day production starts,” Gill said. “All of the pre-work that we’ve been doing for Valentine’s Day, that was below the water line.”
Gill told ABC 10News it’s too late to reorder those items. But she said they are pivoting, and people are supportive and rushing deliveries.
The co-owner of Native Poppy said that with how much water was inside the warehouse, it's now gone if something wasn’t about three to four feet above the ground.
“It is now outside in a pile of trash waiting to go to the dump,” Gill said. “This is just a fraction of it because it’s day four, for the devastation was just unbelievable.”
The flooding isn’t the first unbelievable thing to happen to Native Poppy at one of their locations.
A year and a half ago, a car plowed through their South Park location, forcing the shop to close its doors for six months.
“But I knew insurance was coming," Gill said. "I knew we were going to eventually be okay. I knew our community would surround us and help us. This, knowing that insurance wouldn’t come."
Gill told ABC 10News they’re looking at over $100,000 in damages from the flooding, none of which will be covered by insurance.
"...So, we have to just figure it out,” Gill said.
But, she said they’re fully open and operating, wanting people to buy flowers and donate if they can.
“That’s all we can do right now is keep operating,” Gill said.
They will adjust and continue working out of their two other locations in South Park and Solana Beach.
The popular flower shop plans to push forward with grit and motivation as they work to clean the grime and the muck off of whatever wasn’t heavily impacted by the floods.
“Today is all about resiliency and just adapting to the problem at hand and knowing that we have decided to stay in business. We have decided to grow our business despite this,” Gill said.
Native Poppy also updated customers about the Mission Valley location on their website, which can be found here.
