A DEFIANT shop owner whose business was devastated in the riots has vowed to reopen this week after an outpouring of support from the community.
Sandra Theo, 50, of the Paparazzi clothes boutique in Station Road, Chingford, was distraught when she discovered her store had been ransacked and had most of its stock stolen during the disorder in the early hours of Tuesday August 9.
A group of rampaging youths, who also targeted nearby Virgo clothes shop, smashed its windows and looted around £9,000 worth of clothes.
Now, three weeks on, Mrs Theo is preparing to reopen and hopes to return the shop to its former glory.
She said: “It's like starting all over again and opening a new business. We've had to get new windows, shutters and doors which alone has cost £3,000, and we've had to completely restock it all.
“When the rioting began I though it would never happen in Chingford, we never expected anything like this.”
Mrs Theo discovered her shop had been targeted after her son spotted on social networking website Facebook that youths were looting in Station Road.
“We went down to see if our shop was OK and found it all smashed up. It was very upsetting. I'd only just come out of hospital due to some heart problems and it was like the icing on the cake. It was awful.
“But what has really helped since then is the kindness and support of our customers and the community. We've had lots of people asking how we are and offering good wishes, it's been really nice. It just makes me more determined to keep going.”
Mrs Theo hopes to reopen on Thursday (September 1). An official relaunch of the shop will be held later this autumn.
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