DES MOINES, Iowa — A day after 35th Street Antiques in Des Moines caught fire, you can still smell the smoke in the air.
Now, the owners are left trying to pick up the pieces, a task made more difficult when some of those pieces were truly one-of-a-kind.
Marlene Todd, the co-owner of 35th Street Antiques, got a phone call on Monday most people could never imagine. It was her business partner, telling her their beloved shop was burning.
"It still feels very kind of surreal to me, and every time I actually go inside since it's happened, I'm kind of shocked by what I see," Todd said.
35th Street Antiques had been in business for about three years before the fire. They had everything from art pieces to vintage movie relics.
"We've got everything. There's some junk in there and there's some really beautiful modern lighting and lots of unusual things," Todd said.
And one of the last customers to come through was Brooke Johnson. She visits antique stores around Iowa for her YouTube channel, The Junk Parlor.
She stopped in and shot a video at 35th Street in early February, and by sheer coincidence, the video came out the same day as the fire.
"I loved it. I mean, the shop was amazing, the owner was super nice, he was fine with me filming. And he had just great, very one-of-a-king unique pieces," Johnson said.
Todd still does not know exactly what caused the fire; the shop was closed when it started. She also isn't sure if she will try to re-open the business. She is currently working to salvage what she can, but she hasn't been rebuilding alone.
"We've just had an amazing response from our customers, our friends. It's really been very, very gratifying. I'm touched really by all that's gone on," Todd said.