Clark County businesses clean up after tornadoes cause major damage

Several Clark County businesses remain in clean-up mode after six tornadoes hit the area nearly two weeks ago.

An EF-1 tornado caused damage along Park Layne. It had winds of 100 mph and was on the ground for nearly four miles, the National Weather Service said.

RELATED: Clark County hit with tornadoes 3 times in 2 months

Officials said the tornado first touched down on the western side of Park Layne, where damage occurred to some commercial buildings and trees.

A Family Dollar, Sunoco gas station, McDonald’s, Mel-o-dee Restaurant and Motor Sports of Dayton, along with several m mobile homes near Medway, were damaged by the storms on May 24.

The Mel-o-dee Restaurant will remain closed until further notice. The popular eatery sustained structural damage and blown air conditioning units.

Woody Childers, general manager of the restaurant, said at first he thought it wasn’t hit too hard.

DETAILS: Park Layne tornado: Business sign found 6.5 miles away

“I didn’t think it looked so bad until we started assessing everything,” Childers said. “We had some structural problems, that’s been fixed. Our air conditioners were all out. We have four new units coming this week, on their way here.”

Contractors have been working since the storm and Childers said a lot of progress is being made.

He believes the Mel-o-Dee will be open in about two weeks, depending if everything gets repaired in time.

“The phone rings off the hook,” he said of the restaurant known for its broasted chicken. “We are like everyone else, we need our chicken fix, too.”

Childers wants the chicken to be perfect when the eatery reopens.

WATCH: Park Layne tornado caught on traffic camera

PHOTOS: Tornado damage photo gallery

Another business that was damaged has been open since the storm. Motorsports of Dayton was closed for the day when the storm hit.

“The tornado came over the building and tore off the front half of our roof,” said Jason Rhodin with Motorsports of Dayton.

Several construction sewage tubes across the street were thrown into the building during the storm. That damaged everything inside the showroom, he said, which also caused a lot of water damage.

“Multiple bikes in the showroom, they all received damage. All of our accessories that we had for sale were all damaged during the storm,” Rhodin said. “Hard to estimate. They are still estimating now. We are doing tear-downs to try and find out what our total is going to be.”

But the store and repair shop is open, as if nothing happened. One employee said this past Saturday it did a lot of business.

“We have bikes for sell. We are still performing services on motorcycles and ATVs,” Rhodin said.

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