LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's been nearly three years since a windstorm caused the front of the La Bonita Supermarket on Desert Inn and Eastern to partially collapse.
On Wednesday, the company was able to reopen their doors and welcomed their first guests around 11 a.m.
Company officials tell Channel 13 that it was a long process to figure out what caused the collapse, which was eventually ruled to be structural damage caused by high winds.
While La Bonita says they were planning to have the location reopen months ago, they found more issues that needed to be fixed.
"Once the construction was done and they began to work inside the store, they discovered that many of the AC units and refrigerators were not working," a press release states. "Due to the downtime of being closed, all units on the roof had been vandalized and copper wire and entire units had been stolen from the roof. This pushed back easily another six months, bringing them to today."
While the location was closed, La Bonita officials say they were able to add updates to the property, including new LED lighting, new produce and bakery fixtures, new checkout and self-checkout stands, and new flooring and paint throughout the store.
About 50 of the employees who worked at the store before the collapse have returned to that location and 150 new employees have been hired.
"It has been a very long three years but we are very happy to say we are finally open again on Eastern & Desert Inn," Armando Martinez, General Manager of La Bonita Supermarkets, said in a press release. "I want to thank all our customers for their patience in this entire process. We are excited to be back in business at La Bonita #4 and look forward to serving our community again."
Customers previously told Channel 13 they couldn't wait for. the location to reopen.
