When the Cumberland River overflowed its banks in May 2010, wood flooring distributor McGrath Brothers, along with the city of Nashville, was devastated. The company's warehouse and showroom-then located about 300 yards from a Cumberland River tributary-were flooded and its inventory destroyed. All told, the natural phenomenon cost the company around $1 million, according to CEO Rick McGrath. Today, however, is a different story.
The company has resumed normal business operations. In June McGrath Brothers opened a new showroom near the south side of town at 411 East Iris Street, and in September it launched a brand new website at www.mcgrathdistributing.com.
When the flood hit, the company had vendor obligations in the ballpark of $800,000, but with the help of a FEMA disaster relief loan, it has whittled that figure to less than $150,000 today. "We've paid most of our vendors back; we did not have flood insurance, and our business insurance did not assist us," McGrath said.
Besides striving to overcome the financial hole in which the flood left the company, "A couple of unscrupulous competitors were saying we were out of business, and that's just not true. We're still here," McGrath said.
"We still have some hard work ahead of us, but we see better days ahead," McGrath added.
Several photos McGrath took while waters were high.
