Debris from the April 27 tornado that devastated Ringgold is piled in front of the Days Inn on Alabama Highway, where some businesses have begun to rebuild.RINGGOLD, Ga. – As a stream of cars drove through the once-thriving business area along Alabama Highway last week, three men were suspended high in the air on a bucket lift, hanging a bell-shaped sign onto a freshly painted, salmon-colored building.
All around were signs that April’s vicious tornados laid waste to the area.
A Dumpster sits next to a bent and shredded Super 8 Motel sign. A blue tarp covers a Pizza Hut.
But smack in the middle of the destruction, the newly rebuilt Taco Bell stands as a reminder that the town of about 3,500 people is coming back. This week, the fast-food restaurant will become the first heavily damaged business along the highway to reopen.
“We’re so excited,” said Joy Thornton, a local resident and business owner. “We have this fear that people drive there and say all of Ringgold is gone.”