Green Bay shops focus on getting back to business after building crash

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Parts of Main Street in downtown Green Bay will remain closed after a vehicle crash that caused a local building to partially collapse. The driver of the vehicle is now charged in the crash.

As the investigation continues, several small businesses are trying to figure out what comes next.

Betz Castro Rodriguez is the owner of the Main Salon and Spa.

He says he heard about the crash causing a partial building collapse to the building that houses his business late Sunday night.

“One of my former staff members who asked me, are you okay? and I said, I’m fine. What’s going on? Are you okay? He called me in the middle of the night, I thought something was wrong with him and he says something’s wrong at the salon,” he said.

He says it’s been a painful couple of days.

“It’s devastating, of course, you know you spend 12 years investing in a business.”

Thankfully, he says his clients have been understanding and their hope is to be back to business before they kick off year 13 in business.

Markie Otto, the co-owner of Ren Rejuvenation Bar, says they too are devastated. They were in the process of beginning to plan their one year in business celebration this August.

“And now that all looks very different, we’re trying to find a temporary space to move into so that we don’t disrupt our clients and our appointments,” said Otto.

Both businesses say no matter how bad it looks, they’re hopeful.

“There’s a lot of good that’s coming out, I mean it’s hard to say that when you look at what’s going on, but Green Bay is a really special community,” said Otto.

“I truly believe that God has a way of transforming ruins into something beautiful can be the outcome,” said Castro Rodriguez. “We’ve had many salons reach out to us. We’ve had building owners reach out to us as well and right now we just have to wait and see what happens with the place that I love. The place I build 12 years ago.”

The next steps now are the partial demolition of the building. Castro Rodriguez says that’s expected to start Wednesday morning.

The road will be closed now at least through Friday.

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