Harold Deane Jr. arrived at America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses in Colonial Heights yesterday to order a new pair of contacts.
But yellow caution tape surrounded the store in the Dimmock Square shopping center on Southpark Boulevard.
"I didn't realize this was one of the stores damaged from the storm," he said. "I didn't realize it was this bad."
Monday's tornado blew out windows and caused structural damage to America's Best. Employees were hoping to return to work in a few weeks, but it could be 30 days before the doors reopen because of structural damage.
The Dress Barn and Payless Shoes also will remain closed for about a month, said Colonial Heights Fire Chief A.G. Moore. "We are just very fortunate no one was seriously injured."
Target, Pier One, Best Buy and Old Navy were open for business yesterday. Other stores in the shopping center should reopen by the end of the week.
Damage to about 25 businesses in the area is estimated at about $2 million.
"I'm amazed at how much they've cleaned up already," said Kelly Russell after purchasing a blouse at Target. "I wasn't sure they were open, but I decided to chance it. I'm glad I did."
Russell lives about a mile from the shopping center. Despite damage in the Southpark area, all was calm at her house.
"We didn't even see a leaf blow," she said. "It was amazing."
Cleanup crews spent much of yesterday sweeping up broken glass and busted tail lights from the parking lot, securing plywood over broken storefront windows, salvaging ceiling tiles from inside shops and assessing damage.
"There's definitely going to be a lot of work involved here, but I've seen worse," said Joey Waters, crew chief for Servpro of Chesterfield. "The main thing is, no one was killed."
Waters' crew was inside Payless boxing up the store's inventory. The business will keep it in storage until the store reopens.
The roof continues to leak and ceiling tiles have dropped, he said. "There's glass everywhere."
The scene is similar to 1993, when a tornado struck the same area. In 1984, when open fields ruled the landscape, another twister touched down, Moore said.
"You don't associate Virginia with tornado alley, but something is definitely going on here," he said.
Contact Janet Caggiano at (804) 649-6157 or jcaggiano@timesdispatch.com.
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