Yella Grille is a cozy restaurant on a side street in Andover's town center. With room for 40, the eatery serves Mediterranean food in a dining room with white tablecloths and candles. Danielle Berdahn, who owns Yella Grille with her husband Carlo, takes pride in the restaurant they have built over the past nine years. Her voice quavers as she describes the connection she has with her customers.
"I feel like we're the background music to all of these beautiful memories in people's lives," she said. "It's such an honor and privilege to be a part of those memories."
Berdahn's emotions follow months of anxiety and uncertainty hanging over Yella Grille. It was the last business to reopen following the explosions and fires one year ago that rocked Andover, North Andover and Lawrence. The explosions and fires, caused by an over-pressurized gas line, led to one fatality and dozens of injuries. Thousands of homes and businesses were without gas service for months.
Berdahn said she will never forget that day.
"We had to immediately evacuate the restaurant. When I went in days later, there were still half drunk glasses of wine on the table and people's meals left unfinished," she said.
Berdahn says they lost $17,000 in food alone, and getting back to business proved to be a four-month nightmare.
"We are in a very old building," she said. "We ended up having to upgrade our electrical and also upgrade our plumbing systems, because the gas regulations were changing. And then we had to put in a new exhaust and fire suppression system, because that was not up to code."
Immediately following the explosions, Berdahn made a list of priorities; her employees were at the top. Berdahn offered loans to her 12 employees and guided each of them though the arduous Columbia Gas claims process.
"I wanted to really make sure that everybody was taken care of. And I know that a lot of the people who work for us count on that paycheck every week, and they all have families," she said.
Despite what she has gone through in the last year, she is not overly critical of the gas company.
"The scale of everything was so grand and it was unprecedented. I think it was really overwhelming for everybody to be dealing with," she said.
Today, Yella Grille is thriving and has even opened a second location. In fact, every affected business in Andover and North Andover has reopened. That's not the case next door, in Lawrence, the city hardest hit by the disaster. Ten establishments in the city never reopened, and Mayor Dan Rivera says he expected more from Columbia Gas.
"One of my biggest criticisms of them is they let the attorneys, the insurance brokers and the accountants run the process of getting people made whole with the claims. You would think that might make sense, but it only makes sense when you're dealing with a company, not a person with a family, " he said.
Over on South Union Street, Dan Laratonda is still feeling the pinch. He owns Hayes Tavern, billed as the oldest operating bar in Lawrence. It's dimly lit with a long counter, a pool table, dart board and several high tables dotting an asphalt floor. Hayes Tavern was only closed for three days after the explosions, but months of ripped up streets as workers replaced gas lines kept customers away.
"Business is definitely down," he said. "I think that people don't like driving into Lawrence now because of all the issues with the roads and stuff like that."
Some of Laratonda's neighbors on the street, like Minas Grocery and Smoke Shop, didn't survive.
Uncertainty about when, or if, business will pick up weighs heavily on many business owners.
"Some are doing fine, and some are not doing so fine. There's been the sort of up and down," said Ann Ormond, director of business, arts and cultural development for the Town of Andover. "I think that there are some that want this day to be over, if you will, so they can sort of move along."
Joe Bevilaqua, president of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce in Lawrence, believes the community has already turned the page.
"I think times have changed now. We're getting back on track, businesses are back, residents are now back in their homes, the gas lines have been replaced or repaired."
Bevilaqua says it's important that shoppers know this.
"We need to encourage people to come back now and say, shop in these stores, eat in these restaurants, spend some money in the communities. Come visit, walk around the neighborhoods and bring people back," he said. "Don't focus on the past. Focus on the future."
