Businesses reopen for Labor Day weekend after flooding in Cathedral City

Dirt, thick mud and lingering puddles surround several Cathedral City businesses on East Palm Canyon Drive. It’s a site that some call the remains of a disaster zone.

With a shovel in hand, Tori Meza the general manager of Del Taco says it looks like you need an off-road vehicle just to grab a quick bite to eat.

“We hauled off like eight truckloads of mud and it still looks like poop,” he said.

Inside their doors, business owners refuse to let a muddy mess put a damper on their Labor Day weekend.

“We’re back on track and really excited to be standing here in a good mood,” said Caroldean Ross, owner of Caroldean’s Resale Therapy.

It’s putting shoppers in a good mood too, as they get their fix of a little “resale therapy.”

“I’m very happy, got some good finds,” said Troy Gibson.

However, that wasn’t the case this week after flood waters and debris rushed through the doors of Caroldean’s Resale Therapy and several other businesses.

“Seriously, one of the scariest things I’ve been through. When you look at it now, you’d probably think I was lying. It was really bad,” said Ross.

Showing us pictures, Ross admits the cleanup wasn’t easy. It took, “Lots of hard work, great friends and amazing support from the community. Forty-eight hours later, not a drop of water anywhere,” she said.

Customers are taking notice of the recovery.

Gibson says, “There’s no way you could tell. It’s all spick and spam.”

This holiday weekend, business at Del Taco isn’t quite booming, but it’s bouncing back and employees are rolling with the mud.

“It’s been better than I thought it would be. I thought they’d see the outside and go, ‘I’m not going going in there.’ But they’re coming in,” said Meza.

Beyond just a street sweeper, owners are asking for a little more help from the city.

“Cathedral City, can we please have a dam and a levy that works? That’s what I’m praying for. So, let’s all jump on board and make that happen.”