Mike & Tammy’s Main Street Market and Deli and Maple Leaf Diner, Londonderry
We’re going to reopen because it’s who I am. This place is my life and my family’s livelihood. I have all local people working for me. Where are the seniors going to go for a lunch or breakfast they can afford? My local guys, the work crews, they’re my bread-and-butter, and they showed up for me. So here we are, helping ourselves with the support of our community. –Tammy Clough, Mike & Tammy’s Main Street Market and Deli
Mike & Tammy’s Main Street Market and Deli and their adjacent Maple Leaf Diner are Londonderry institutions that sustain the folks who keep their communities running. For 17 years, owner Tammy Clough and her crew have prepared dependable, good-quality, familiar food at reasonable prices. The West River crested twice, early Monday morning and again that afternoon, which made it double-trouble. I saw it all on camera. So whatever the water didn’t hit the first time, the second time finished it off.
Our cellar was full, and water was coming out the bulkhead door. Up here in the store, we had 2 to 3 feet of water in back and a foot-and-a-half up front. You can see where the wallboard is cut. We cut that right away to get ahead of the mold.
We were here during Irene. Irene was a cake walk compared to this one. I was up and running in four days. Now, it’s already been six weeks, and we’re guessing we still won’t be able to open until mid-September. All the compressors and refrigerators got hit and had to be replaced along with all the electric, and about 80 percent of my inventory is gone. Had to pitch it all. Insurance doesn’t cover acts of God, and flood insurance is too expensive.
The only people who have helped me are the people I feed lunch to every day. People showed up to help as soon as the water receded. It was overwhelming. It was hard to give people direction because I had just walked through the door myself and saw my whole life…gone.
The locals just showed up, helped clean up and paint. We saved the hardwood floors because we were in here on our hands and knees with floor brushes cleaning out the mud and silt. The locals are where it’s at.
I lost my computer, all my paperwork in the office nook up front. How do you get a grant without being able to provide proof of anything? If I could afford a loan, I would have done that years ago. It wouldn’t have taken a flood for me to improve my business. Between Irene and the pandemic, it’s hard to get a loan based on last year’s taxes, which still reflect business drop from the pandemic. The pandemic took any personal income I could put into the business to keep it afloat during that time.
And now this.
I’ve been working with Neighborhood Connections. They’ve been filling out grants for me.
They’ve been spectacular, helping everyone here get unemployment while they wait for us to reopen. They make us feel noticed and cared for.
We’re going to reopen because it’s who I am. This place is my life and my family’s livelihood. My husband is a native, and I’ve been here in Londonderry for 40 years. I have all local people working for me. Where are the seniors going to go for a lunch or breakfast they can afford? My local guys, the work crews, they’re my bread-and-butter, and they showed up for me. So here we are, helping ourselves with the support of our community.
