What’s the future for North Wind Home Collection?

By Heather Kallevig

Special to the Homer Independent Press

A longstanding Pioneer Avenue business was heavily damaged on May 18 when a car crashed into it. North Wind Home Collection has reopened up the street on what many consider Homer’s main business district. Located in the historic Uminski’s building for 30 years, the furnishings, gift and clothing store has found a temporary home in another historic structure, the Wild Berry building.

A sport utility vehicle driven by a young Homer woman smashed through the east wall and a second interior wall before stopping at the store’s front counter. Homer Police charged the driver with driving under the influence, but prosecutors dismissed the charges after the woman had a seizure at the Homer Jail. According to earlier reporting, the driver’s lawyer said the accident was due to a medical emergency, and no further charges have been filed against the driver. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. 

Barb Scalzi and Lu Lovelace began the store in 1995 as a small gift shop in Land’s End Resort. Two years later they were ready to expand.  They moved their space to the Uminski’s  building on Pioneer, Homer’s first general store. It later became a hobby shop before North Wind took up residence in 1997. During those early years the store’s focus was home décor. In 2007, Scalzi’s daughter, Lacie Velsko, joined her in expanding the store to include women’s clothing and other items   

The crash damaged not only the building, but  a fair amount of merchandise was damaged, particularly clothes and furniture, according to Velsko.

“Twenty-five to thirty percent was destroyed, mostly clothing, some furniture; the dining table was completely destroyed,” she said  “The rest of the merchandise we were able to preserve and use in the new store. We had items in our storage and back stock as well.”

Since the crash there has been a great deal of curiosity and concern as to what the future holds for one of Homer’s longest-serving stores.This has not been the first calamity North Wind has overcome. In 2007 they sustained a fire near the entrance. It damaged the front façade of the building and forced a closure while it was repaired. Scalzi and Velsko overcame that early challenge and intend to face this current setback with the same determination.

Scalzi and Velsko have been working with their insurance company to decide what happens next. Unfortunately, determining the future of the building is a long process, and it soon became apparent they would need to open shop elsewhere if they wanted to take advantage of the summer season. The goal was to find a nearby location, preferably on Pioneer avenue. The Wild Berry building became the clearest choice.

Over the next few weeks they moved merchandise and set up shop. A sign soon graced the outside of the building. With a lease through February 2027, Scalzi and Velsko plan to stay there for the foreseeable future as issues are worked out with the current building. They will likely remain at the Wild Berry building a bit longer.

As for the future of the North Wind Building, no one is more eager than Scalzi and Velsko to know.

“It’s still in the works. We definitely plan to rebuild something usable in the current space,” Velsko said “We want a building back there.  Whether we can restructure our current building or demolish and rebuild there will always be a building there.  It just depends on whether or not the building is salvageable.  That is in the hands of the insurance company at this point.”

Meanwhile North Wind Home Collection will be open for business at the Wild Berry building daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.