RALSTON, Neb. (KMTV) — An unexpected power outage took a Ralston small business offline. But it's what happened next that has the store owner emotional as she told me about how the neighborhood reacted.
"We noticed our back lights weren't working when we went to turn our light switch on," owner Kelly Gray said. "We immediately were checking to see what was on and what was off. We had some power. The lights in our storage room was out."
Gray never expected a bird hitting an electrical transformer would force her to shut down on Saturday. A double whammy because she was already shutting down for the holiday.
"It was already a big loss to be closed on Sunday for Easter. And then, closing on Saturday too was a really big hit too, so we were a little scared," she said.
Gray has bills to pay. But that day, she had product to toss. Thousands of dollars worth. Freezers and refrigerators didn't work.
Pause Coffee put out the word they had to close. What happened next, another thing Gray never expected.
"First we had people asking if we could clean it up because we had a bunch of stuff to throw out. We didn't need help doing that part of it. We got through that pretty easily. But, then again, what can we do to help, can we donate money, come and help you clean," Gray said."
Regulars told me it's because of the special place Gray has created.
"I mean you walk in the door and Kelly has my drink memorized," Liz Arcand said. "You chat with Matthew and we talk sports. The entire family is just so wonderful."
"You work really hard to make sure people know they're loved and accepted for who they are every part of that. And you work really hard to make sure they know that," Gray said.
"We know that we contribute to the community as much as our community contributes to us. We love that, we love being a part of this space and this town," she said.
Gray has poured her heart into the coffee shop and plans to give back to the neighborhood in late April when Pause celebrates its first anniversary.
