Sometimes it takes a mishap to remind you that the world is filled with good people.

Last Thursday morning when we arrived at our business, the Expo Interior Upholstery shop in Juanita, we found an awful mess caused by a drunk driver crashing through the front window. At first we were just grateful that no one was hurt. Then as we started really taking inventory of the damage we were distressed because so many peices of custom furniture were ruined. In addition, the crash knocked out a support post for a very large beam that, had it fallen, would have seriously injured the driver or one of us. As a result of this structural damage, the city engineer and Kirkland Fire Department determined that in the interest of public safety we had to close the shop until the post and beam could be repaired.

We are writing to thank those city officials who worked with us to expedite the permit process so we could get the repair work underway. We also wish to thank the Kirkland Police officers who protected our shop and the contents during the night of the accident and assisted us getting the proper insurance information so we could begin the process of filing insurance claims.

And most importantly we thank our customers who were kind enough to be patient and wait a few extra days to complete the work. Some came by to place orders and saw the destruction and expressed sympathy and a willingness to do business with us while we sorted through the mess.

The business is our livliehood and we have worked very hard to build a business we can be proud of and now we are happy to report that while we still have a long way to go to get everything back in order, we are open for business!

Marco and Maria Alvarez, EXPO Interior Upholstery Inc.