Monarch Comics hosts soft reopening after fire destroys business

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Rebuilding bigger and better. After a fire destroyed multiple businesses at the Colonial Village Plaza earlier this month, one business is picking up the pieces and getting a new start.

Monarch Comics was one of the businesses impacted by the fire and it hosted a soft reopening Thursday.

“Monarch was pretty much wiped out. And we were able to put everything together in this new space in the same shopping center at Colonial Village,” said Ed Katschke, owner of Monarch Comics.

What was supposed to be months of cleanup, turned into just weeks due to the support that Katschke has behind him. Some of that comes from 40-year loyal customer Jim Beard.

“Maybe that’s kind of odd like it’s just a comic shop, but comics have become such a huge part of my life,” said Beard. “And when you’ve been going to a place for as long as I have, the very thought of going somewhere else or doing something different was just not good, it’s just like, no, we need to get Monarch back up on its feet so it’ll be there for another 40 years.”

Other loyal customers were in and out of the new temporary space all morning getting their supply of comics that made it out of the fire. Kevin Rivest makes the drive from Findlay every month to get his favorites and said he wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“I had a comic shop down there that went out of business and so I looked around and I tried different places and this place was the friendliest, most helpful place I went. So I drive 45 minutes every month to come up to get my comics,” said Rivest.

Rivest has been shopping at Monarch for the last few years and says the drive is nothing compared to love he feels when he walks in the door.

“I was coming before Ed even bought the store, so it was a… it holds a place in my heart,” said Rivest.

The community’s help meant a lot to Katschke.

“It’s meant everything. I can’t really easily describe what it’s like to walk in and see 30 years of your life completely destroyed by fire, but what helped me immediately bounce back was the community response I had,” Katschke said. “It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was still surprising and heartening to see how much Monarch Comics has affected the community and how much they were looking forward to having the store open up again.”

The temporary location is the old barber shop in the Colonial Village Plaza. The store will be going back to normal business hours beginning on Jan. 8.

Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals

Copyright 2024 WTVG. All rights reserved.