LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After months of sitting empty, the Kroger on Rodney Parham in Little Rock reopened Wednesday morning after a long recovery due to the March tornado.
For the community, it's a welcome sight to see.
"I hope that they see it as also a sign of rebuilding and renewal," Colony West Homes Association President Jerald Caffey said. "Being part of this community, we've kind of looked at this store as our store."
It's taken months to get to this point, but Caffey views it as a sign of progress.
"It is kind of a barometer, to show us, yes, we're getting back together," Caffey said. "We're getting back to normal, some sense of normalcy."
Of course, this Kroger is much more than that. It's also a vital resource in this part of the city and is employment for hundreds.
"For us, it's a big deal, this is several hundred employees, who, for the past few months, have been spread across the city," Kroger Community Affairs member George Brown said. "They're coming back together today. It's kind of like a family reunion."
It hasn't been a quick process to get this location back open.
All those employees, a brand new roof and fixing all that damage. In total, Brown said it cost $4 million to reopen.
"The fact that we see the store reopening tells me the neighborhood is coming back," Brown said. "That's exciting for them. It's exciting for us as well."
With this reopening, there's also no more gap in groceries in the area.
"Because if we're not here providing the fresh food and everything for everyone, there's not a store for people to go to," Brown said.
It's still easy to see the scars left behind by the tornado as the rest of the shopping center remains gutted while waiting on new construction.
But they've made it through – together.
"It's more of a family, more of a community that way," Caffey said. "I mean, that's one of the reasons we've lived here so long, and so many others is because of the community."