LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A group of below street businesses on Maryland Parkway is finally drying out following Tuesday's storms and flooding.
What business owners returned to wasn't pretty.
Businesses inside the Promenade building across from the campus of UNLV are drying out but there's still quite a mess to clean up. Many of the owners are optimistic that they'll be able to reopen.
Wednesday was a day full of vacuuming, washing and cleaning for the employees who work in the lower level of the building.
"I was trying to figure out how I'm going to get it all cleaned up because you don't know where to start," said "Dez," who owns Flame Kabob. "I kind of puddle my way through, and I just kind of saw the aftermath and it looked like Hurricane Katrina."
"I can't even describe what I'm feeling right now, and I'm crying at the next," said Yvonne Wiltse, who works at Tatlantis Tattoo Parlor.
"Bills due - we just paid rent and now we can't even make any money back," said Kory Hall, owner of Coast to Coast Denim Accessories.
Some businesses, such as Fade Em All University and P.H.D. Salon, plan to reopen by the end of the week.
A lot of FOX5 viewers inquired about Whazzup Pizza, which was hit particularly hard by flooding. The business is currently boarded up and the owner tearfully said he doubts he'll be able to reopen.
Owners of many of the restaurants in the building said they'll likely have to move because of fear of mold.
The building's maintenance supervisor told FOX5 he had just cleared the drainage system on Thursday but that the sheer amount of mud and water overloaded it.
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