Pleasant Grove beauty suites still recovering one week after flooding

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PLEASANT GROVE — Multiple women-owned small businesses are still scrambling to make ends meet after flooding from a powerful thunderstorm a week ago washed out their basement studios.

Rin Bates, owner of Feel Good Piercings, said her studio at Posh Beauty Suites at 110 S. Main St. in Pleasant Grove, was flooded when rushing water broke the window at the northeast corner of the building.

"I was honestly in shock," Bates recalled during an interview with KSL-TV. "When my student called me, she was like, 'Hey, there's been a little bit of some water in the studio' and then she sent me the videos and I was like, 'Oh, that's not a little bit of water!'"

Bates said her student barely had time to get out of the way.

"She had barely finished, water began trickling in and she ran to go grab towels," Bates explained. "Luckily her and her clients had moved out because within seconds, the window broke and it was just gushing in here."

Posh Beauty Suites co-owner Hannah Bentley said she was working in her suite upstairs when she heard a "big bang."

"I thought someone fell down the stairs," Bentley said. "I ran out and they said that the window had shattered and the water just came pouring in and so we just called the fire department and shut off the electricity and it was just crazy!"

Kaylie Lowe, the other co-owner of Posh Beauty Suites, said she was immediately worried about the walls and floors, but primarily about the women who worked downstairs.

"I think probably the biggest thing we were worried about was our girls because of their products and their furniture and everything," Lowe said. "They put so much into their businesses."

Bates said a significant amount of product was ruined and her liability insurance and renter's insurance did not cover the losses.

"Definitely check out your insurance policies and make sure that those are all up to date and if they're not, definitely hop on that," Bates said. "I feel like I have a lot more empathy for people who go through natural disasters and donating $5 to their GoFundMe can make such a difference."

The owners of the suites set up a GoFundMe* account to support the small businesses impacted by the flooding.

As of Tuesday, the fundraiser had already surpassed its $5,000 goal.

Lowe said everyone was grateful for the community support after the flooding that literally came out of the blue.

"It was just such a fluke thing," Bates said.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.