The State of Ohio Fire Marshal declared the fire, which damaged five buildings including Kismet, started in the rear of 16 W. Union St.
It’s just stuff.
That’s what Jocelyn and Victor Williams, owners of Kismet at 16 W. Union St., kept telling themselves as pictures and video materialized online of their year-and-a-half-old store decimated by vast black smoke.
Victor was at their home in Cincinnati when Meredith Allen, manager of the store, called him at 10:30 a.m. Sunday to say that their store had suffered incredible damage. She drove to the fire with her boyfriend from her home in Millfield, expecting to see a small alley fire and the store intact. She was scheduled to work that day.
“My beautiful store and water pouring out underneath the doors. ... I couldn’t believe it,” Allen said. “I could see through the door. The water coming from the fire hose pouring down into the store and the charred roof ... it was all gone.”
Then came the calls to Victor’s wife Jocelyn, who was working at the Greater Cincinnati Holiday Market. Then another call to their daughter, Mason, a freshman at Ohio University studying business, to reassure her that all would be OK.
“The pictures were the worst part,” Victor said. “That prepared us for seeing the building.”
Those pictures showed their store engulfed in flames, drenched in water by the Athens Fire Department, and then a carcass of what their “earthy-elegant” fashion store once was. The roof had completely caved in, and the apartment above it was declared a total loss. Allen and Mason found each other at the scene, and mourned the loss of what Allen said was practically her home.
The family’s third and youngest store was dead before it was truly allowed to grow, Jocelyn said. But they’re not done with Athens, yet.
Jocelyn said they made a family of their own there — including Allen, who moved from Cincinnati to work at the Athens location after nearly a decade of working for Kismet. In total, the store had four employees.
The State of Ohio Fire Marshal declared the fire, which damaged five buildings including Kismet, started in the rear of 16 W. Union St. Victor said they have been assured Kismet was not the source of the fire.
“It’s been crazy ever since then,” Victor said. “We came in the other night and took our crew out to dinner and made sure nobody was worried about covering rent.”
Allen said the dinner with employees was exactly what she needed — they reminisced on when the store opened and how it had affected their lives.
The Williamses also have Kismet stores in Yellow Springs and Cincinnati, with about 30 employees in all. The Cincinnati location is 22 years old.
“Instead of being from Athens or Cincinnati, you’re from the planet,” Jocelyn said. “It’s earthy-elegant. We have a well-traveled, well-rounded kind of look. It’s for real people. Nothing was super expensive.”
Victor mentioned that Kismet’s affected employees will be eligible for unemployment benefits, though the application process could take weeks.
“We’ll help out our girls as best as we can,” he said. “The bills still come in every week.”
The family hasn’t been allowed into Kismet yet to see the damage for themselves, as the property is considered too risky by the Athens Fire Department.
“Our insurance company has expressed to me that they don’t see us as having any fault in this thing,” Victor said. “But it’s been a nightmare for the insurance adjusters and for the state arson investigator, we’re just sitting back and I give them whatever they ask me to do. From what I know about buildings, I think it’ll be completely torn down.”
Mason, who works at the Kismet in Cincinnati and occasionally took shifts at the Athens location, said this week has been heartbreaking. But, the support from fellow Bobcats has helped her cope while she waits to return home for Thanksgiving — her favorite holiday.
She discovered Kismet was on fire Sunday morning through friends living in Bromley Hall, who texted her and sent her Snapchats around 8:30 a.m.
“It’s been a rough month or so, and this was kind of icing on the cake,” Mason said. “Our family loved that store.”
Mason said her first semester has been hard enough, as she’s particularly close to her mother.
Victor said he and Jocelyn had been considering purchasing the domain name “www.ilovetthatstore.com” because of how often it was posted to the store’s Facebook and Twitter feed to praise it’s unique layout and items. Victor said that the Athens location certainly had a personality of its own, but he’s hoping to relocate as soon as possible.
“Everybody will just have to pick up the pieces, but at least everyone is able to,” Jocelyn said. “It’s just stuff. We’ll get through this.”
@EOCKERMAN
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