Bean Hollow To Shutter On Main Street, Owner Says

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Property owners and residents in Ellicott City are weighing their options in the aftermath of Sunday's deadly flood. At least one business has announced it will not reopen on Main Street.

"...as badly as we want to come back, we cannot in good conscience rebuild in E.C.," beloved coffee shop Bean Hollow shared with its Facebook followers.

The cafe located at the base of Main Street was one of those hard hit by the flood of 2016, and owner Gretchen Shuey said she could not bear putting employees in danger again.

The decision not to rebuild Bean Hollow in the historic district was not made lightly, she said, saying it came after "a lot of soul searching and a lot of heartbreak."

The shop and its patrons had become part of her family.

Shuey said her son "was placed in a car seat on a BH table from the age of 7 days old and grew up there as our family grew to include our customers whom we adopted or adopted us."

After the 2016 flood, she said she knew what to expect. But that did not make the reality easier.

"I am struggling so much to describe this experience," Shuey posted Wednesday on the Bean Hollow Facebook page.

"Every rainfall, every radar image of a storm, every gathering of clouds was a trigger," Shuey wrote. "I employ 17 young adults who are someone else's children. The BH 911 call from the flood of 2016 was described by the 911 operator as the worst of all the calls she took that night. Listening to it was devastating to me. I never got over it, and just typing this makes me cry. I really can't live with this level of fear and anxiety anymore."

This was an excerpt from Patch's coverage of the 911 calls in the 2016 flood:

"The floor's buckling...[and] we can feel the ceiling crumbling," said the caller from Bean Hollow, who was heard screaming as the floor broke underfoot. There was no place for the eight people inside the coffee shop to go, she said, but after nearly four minutes on the line with the dispatcher, they found an escape.

• Flood Calls From 2016: 'The Floor's Buckling"
• Ellicott City 2016 Flood Damage by the Numbers
• 7 Things To Know About Sergeant Eddison Hermond

"We were able to rebuild the first time because the community bridged the gap between flood insurance and actual cost, and because we were supported by so much love from all of you and the determination born from all the love we have for you, our fellow merchants, residents and our community that extends all across the continents," Shuey wrote in a post late the evening of May 30, the day after police confirmed one person had died in the flood. Three days had passed since the storm hit.

"After a lot of soul searching and a lot of heartbreak, we feel that as badly as we want to come back, we cannot in good conscience rebuild in E.C. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to one of my staff as a result of a flood, and there is nothing that can be done to fix the flood problem in the near future," Shuey said.

Bean Hollow will not be gone, she added.

"We do plan to rebuild somewhere in Catonsville if we can find a suitable location that will allow a roaster," said Shuey, who lives in Catonsville. "We have also considered Columbia, but I grew up in Catonsville and have a strong love and connection to this place I call home, so we are hoping:) We will be back!! We have no doubt about that. We just need to find some higher ground to settle onto while we sip great coffee with amazing people."

• As Ellicott City Braces For More Rain, Cleanup Progresses
• Scenes From Flooded Ellicott City: Video And Photos
• Ellicott City 2018 Flood: ‘Devastated, Heartbroken’ By Roaring Waters

Picture of Bean Hollow after the 2018 flood is a still from Howard County Police Department video. Photo of Bean Hollow after the 2016 flood by Elizabeth Janney.