View from the espresso bar

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Most businesses on the island were closed Friday, including souvenir, ice cream and tee shirt shops. Only a few stayed open to serve emergency personnel, some offering their wares for half-price or free. Those still open became places for people to gather and share their stories.

Pamela Miller, owner of C.C. Gallagher, an espresso bar and gallery, was coordinating with about a half- dozen restaurants on the mainland, which donated as much food as they could gather to feed firefighters coming off the lines. ‘We were just getting as much food as quick as they could.’ Like many businessowners, many of Miller’s employees couldn’t work because they’d been evacuated. Several volunteers stepped in to help out. ‘We’re extremely concerned about making sure we can do whatever needed for the firemen….as long as we have enough people to stay open, we’ll stay open.’

-Susanna Rosenblatt