West Side Market in recovery mode after fire; looking to bounce back quickly

CLEVELAND - The West Side Market opened its doors to the media Tuesday to take a look inside at the aftermath of a fire that happened the morning of Jan. 30.

Vendors have been affected by the temporary shutdown that is projected to last through Feb. 13.

To help with recovery efforts, this Wednesday will be set aside as "West Side Market Wednesday." Businesses are asked to donate 5 percent of their sales to help with recovery efforts. Organizers are even asking non-business owners to give to help get this historical part of Cleveland's downtown back on its feet.

Cleanup started Sunday on the 100-year-old market. Twenty laborers worked to remove wasted food and other products that were in the fire. Two waste collection trucks hauled it away.

The Department of Public Works has entered into a contract with RestoRX MD, a Mentor-based disaster recovery company that specializes in fire damage, to do the cleaning. The contract is estimated at approximately $276,000. The cleanup project will take up to 10 days to complete.

According to the city of Cleveland, the city will pay for the cleanup out of capital funds previously set aside for upgrades and improvements to the West Side Market. The city executed a mayor's emergency, which allows the city to move forward quickly in emergency situations like this.

Public Works Director Michael Cox talked with NewsChannel5 on Sunday.

"We value the West Side Market and the impact that it and our vendors have on our community and economy," said Cox. "Restoring it to full operation is our number one goal," he said.

If you'd like to make a donation to vendors and the relief effort you can go to a site set up by Chef Michael Symon: http://www.marketvendorrelief.org/