A large section of roof on the Riverdale Super A Foods building collapsed last Friday afternoon, forcing the closure of the store.

Super A owner Scott McCarthy told the Star Tuesday there were no injuries, as those inside had vacated the store at 9 a.m., when they started hearing creaking and banging coming from the roof, with some sagging visible.

“That was enough for us to get everybody out of the building,” he said. “That is the important thing; nobody got hurt.”

While he’s hoping to reopen the gas bar later this week, McCarthy said, it’s difficult at this point to say how long repairs to the roof will take, or how much they’ll cost.

A section measuring approximately 2,500 and 3,000 square feet came down over the bakery area, he said, adding the store has an overall area of 15,000 square feet.

McCarthy said experts who have assessed the situation believe the snow load on the roof was a contributing factor to the collapse.

“I have lived here my whole life and I have never seen snow like this,” he said.

He noted that after the large snowfall in early November 2020, it got warm and then rained. It would snow again, then get warm again, he said, suggesting the compaction may have also been a factor.

McCarthy said they have not been able to conduct an inventory of food that was lost but he expects to lose some perishable items.

The Porter Creek Super A and Bigway Foods in Granger have been quite helpful in taking some foods off of McCarthy’s hands so they don’t have too much spoilage, he noted.

He said he’s also had an outpouring of support from many individuals.

The store owner said he employs 25 people, so he’s also trying to take care of them.

The professionals working inside now are safe, and they’re making sure everybody is safe, he said.

McCarthy said the only people who are going to be in the store are the professionals.

The building is insured, he said.

McCarthy believes the Riverdale Super A was built in or around 1986.