Just months after someone took his father's life on the Indian Creek Trail, the creek took Brian Darby's business.
"One of the front walls buckled in. It's a total loss. This is not a rip up a foot of sheet rock and put new carpet down, this is a game changer. I'm going to have to make some pretty tough decisions in the next few weeks," Darby told 41 Action News.
As they scrambled to secure the restaurant at 103rd and Wornall, the rising creek waters spilled into the building, forcing Darby and bar co-owner Chris Carle to climb into the building's roof, waiting for their eventual rescue.
Fire crews from Kansas City and Olathe rescued them by boat by cutting a hole in the roof.
2 happy campers! Brian Darby & Chris Carle, safe, after rescue by @KCMOFireDept water rescue team. Trapped by flood in Coach's @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/Fj7BfMGmJR
— Belinda Post (@Belinda_Post) July 27, 2017
"They were in communication with us the whole time," Carle said. "I had some friends letting us know what's going on."
Instead of going home after he was rescued, Brian, friends, and family members went to Jasper's down the street. Untouched by the flood, the restaurant was the calm after the storm. Turns out, laughter and some drinks were all they needed, if only for a little while.
"Everybody down there in the shopping center at 103rd, we know them all from the UPS store to Coach's. It's just sad to see what happened down there," Jasper's owner Jasper Mirabile Jr. said.
Every business surrounding Coach's is cleaning up too. Officials said at least 12 businesses were damaged in the small shopping center. Walls are caved in, windows are blown out, everything a sopping mess. People were piling up what they could salvage, but it wasn't much.
Darby said the flood waters were the highest he's ever seen.
Laurie Black's spa was under water. The water pooled there, seeping through the cracks in the building, until crews came to pump it out around 1 p.m. Located in the basement of a building at 103 Square, she lost $200,000 worth of equipment.
"You can't even see the top. So, I'm sure everything is a loss. I don't have insurance," she said.
Black said she couldn't get anyone to insure her for a reasonable price, same for her neighbors, because the area is known for flooding.
But through their own devastation, many business owners are still rallying around the Darby family.
"They lost their father, the owner. Obviously, he was very loved by the community, and to me, they'd been through enough and they were the ones needing rescue," Black said.
The side doors of Coach's blown out @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/syS3pH6oPU
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) July 27, 2017
Darby said the city needs to start paying attention to the various problems with infrastructure and crime around the Indian Creek Trail.
"My dad and Chris gave a lot to this city, and the people itself have helped us out immensely, and the love that we have received. I guarantee you I have a hundred text messages from people offering to help, but I need the city to help me in some way. I don't know what that way is, but something needs to change," Darby said.
When asked what he'll do next, he said the focus is his employees.
"A lot of them live paycheck to paycheck. I need to get them whole and squared before I figure out what I do with that place,” Darby said.
No one was hurt, but it'll take quite some time to bounce back. Darby isn't sure if he will.
