posted on August 18, 2008

Globe And mail: Shopkeepers mind empty stores as wary residents return home

By: KATE HAMMER AND JAMIE KOMARNICKI
Published: August 13, 2008
Source: Globe And mail

His fermenting vats of wine need to be chilled between four and five degrees Celsius. So when a neighbouring propane facility exploded and sent a mushroom cloud of fire into the night sky, it also cut off power to the coolers in Mario De Liberato's make-your-own wine store and ruined nearly 500 litres of wine.

Mr. De Liberato stood behind the store's counter yesterday, arms akimbo, staring out at the street through a crystal-clear storefront window. The new window was installed Monday after the old one shattered in Sunday's explosion.

"It cost about $1,000," Mr. De Liberato sighed. "The same as the insurance deductible."

The Wine Emporium, snuggled into a line of family-owned shops on Wilson Avenue near Keele Street, has long been a nexus of the neighbourhood east of what are now the burned remains of Sunrise Propane.

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