Two Upshur County businesses to close permanently after recent flooding

BUCKHANNON — Two longtime businesses damaged in the July 21 flooding will not reopen, their owners announced this week.

The Hillbilly Grill is closing after 17 years on Stonecoal Lake Road. Smoker Friendly is closing its stores in Buckhannon and Weston after 22 years in both towns.

“It is with sad hearts that we have to close the Hillbilly Grill,” the restaurant, owned by Larry and Tercia Alderman, said in a statement. “We have made many friends here in the last 17 years.”

The restaurant took too much flood damage to reopen. They thanked their customers for their support over the years.

Located on Stonecoal Road, the Hillbilly Grill sat along one of the hardest-hit roads in Upshur County. It was in the Stonecoal Lake area that two people were found dead in a vehicle swept from the roadway by rising water.

Smoker Friendly announced its closures in a separate statement, saying the company had weighed the decision before concluding both stores were beyond reopening.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the permanent closure of Smoker Friendly in Weston and in Buckhannon,” the statement said. “This decision did not come easily. Following the recent flooding in our area and after careful consideration, we have determined that we are unable to reopen these locations.”

The company bought the two stores in 2004.

“During that time, these stores became so much more than places of business,” the statement said. “They became gathering places where friendships were formed, familiar faces were welcomed each day, and countless memories were made.”

The statement also thanked the employees who worked in the two stores.

“You have represented Smoker Friendly with pride and compassion, and many of you have become part of our extended family,” it said. “The relationships built within these stores will always be cherished.”

Smoker Friendly is a family-owned West Virginia chain based in Parkersburg with 44 locations.

Several other businesses remain closed as Upshur and Lewis counties recover from last Tuesday’s devastating flooding.

Financial help could be on the way, but the federal government has yet to issue a disaster declaration for the area.

Governor Patrick Morrisey asked President Donald Trump on July 25 for an expedited major disaster declaration covering Upshur, Lewis and five other counties. Trump had not acted on the request as of Friday.

West Virginia’s congressional delegation sent its own letter the same day. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice and Representatives Carol Miller and Riley Moore asked the president to approve individual assistance for the seven counties, public assistance for local governments and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program statewide.

“Homes have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, roads and bridges have been damaged, businesses have been disrupted, and critical public infrastructure has sustained significant losses,” the delegation wrote.

Most federal help for a damaged business comes as debt. The U.S. Small Business Administration lends up to $2 million at low interest to repair or replace buildings, equipment and inventory, and makes separate working capital loans to businesses that lost income. Those loans also require a disaster declaration, either from the president or from the SBA itself. Neither has been issued for the July 21 flooding.

Business owners who have not filled out the state damage survey should do so. The count of documented local losses affects how much federal help reaches Upshur County.

“Our hearts continue to be with everyone affected by the recent flooding,” the Smoker Friendly statement said. “Many families, including members of the Smoker Friendly family, have experienced unimaginable loss. We ask that you continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they begin the long journey of rebuilding.”