VENTURA : Misfortune-Plagued Asian Store Open for Business Again

Harbans S. Chahal thinks his luck might finally be on the upswing.

He was forced to close his Asian-American Market in Ventura last March after water damage from a fire upstairs wiped out his inventory and severely damaged the building.

Then Chahal was ready to reopen the combined convenience store and Asian food market last week when a water pipe in an upstairs apartment burst, causing a second mini-disaster in the shop, which had been restocked, remodeled and redecorated during its 7 1/2-month closure.

“We were just supposed to open, and then we had all this damage again,” Chahal said. “We have suffered very much for no reason.”

On Wednesday, after spending thousands of dollars on repairs and reordering inventory, the Indian immigrant finally reopened the store. Although traffic was slow at the shop at South Laurel and East Santa Clara streets, Chahal seemed confident that his clientele would return.

“We’ve had people coming here on and off for weeks to see if we’re opening,” Chahal said. “People come from Santa Barbara, Ojai, from Camarillo--we’re almost the only shop selling Asian food between here and Los Angeles.”

As Chahal surveyed the rows of imported canned foods, sauces and rice bags that line the store’s back shelves, Doyle Sells came in to buy Chinese incense, one of Chahal’s hottest-selling items.

Sells, who lives nearby, said he went without incense while the market was closed. “This is the only place I know to get it,” he said, “and this is about the best incense I’ve ever found.”

Later, Jeanne Beutler, another returning customer, came in to pick up a bottle of seasoned Japanese rice vinegar and two cans of Thai coconut milk.

The Ventura woman said she used to shop at the market regularly for Asian items that other markets do not carry. After paying, she asked Chahal’s wife, Jaspal, if special spicy egg rolls are still being offered at the store.

Chahal said there would be egg rolls next week, and Beutler said she’d return.

The Asian-American Market was back in business.