It made sense that Clint’s Kuntry Katfish Catering’s small business was flooded with exactly two feet of water during Hurricane Harvey, manager Dustin Morton said.

Owner Clint Campbell, Morton’s father-in-law, foreshadowed the facility flooding two years prior when the flood plain raised and put the building roughly two feet below the 100-year flood plain, Morton said.

The catering business has offered homemade food, including fried catfish, smoked meats and baked goods since 1996 when Campbell purchased the company.

The 3,000-square-foot metal building suffered roughly $35,000-$40,000 in damage, with the biggest blow coming from loss of inventory, Morton said. The company lost hundreds of pounds of product that were stored in the refrigerator for catering events that cancelled with Harvey’s sudden arrival.

Morton said the business was fortunate, as it sits elevated in Vernon’s Kuntry Katfish parking lot and fared well compared to other homes and businesses in the area. Friends, neighbors and family, helped Morton and his wife, Kelly, quickly excavate the building, cut out sheetrock, replace kitchen equipment and dispose of rotten product.

After roughly two weeks, the catering company was fully operational, even gaining back two events that were cancelled due to the storm.

“Just having friends and family close by who were willing to pitch in, getting in the middle of that stinky mess and helping out, was truly remarkable and a lifesaver,” he said. “It really got us back on our feet.”