Destroyed in Riots, Auto Parts Store Reopens Its Doors : Economy: Of the 178 businesses damaged during the unrest, 53 have reopened and 70 more plan to return, according to a city report.

Under gray skies and bright banners, another Compton store offered a bit of proof last weekend that the fires of April have cooled.

The auto parts store Carquest reopened for business Saturday on Rosecrans Avenue in the shadow of its gutted former building, which was torched during last spring’s riots. The new building will have extra security, in the form of roll-down metal shutters, but most everything else will be the same, including the employees.

“We never really considered going elsewhere,” said Kenneth C. Cleveland, president of Carquest, whose Compton store brings in about $1 million in annual sales. “It was simply good business to come back.”

Of 178 businesses damaged during last spring’s riots, 53 have reopened, according to a city report. Seventy business owners say they plan to return to the city, two have said they will not and another 53 are either undecided or their decision is unknown.

“We’re not surprised that people are committed to rebuilding here,” said City Manager Howard Caldwell. “A lot of them were doing really well here, financially, and we cut out a lot of the red tape in the rebuilding process.”

Some merchants were able to open their doors quickly. Others had to rebuild from rubble.

In one of the first rebuilding efforts, Taco Bell turned its misfortune in the riot into a marketing stunt by reconstructing a demolished fast-food restaurant from the ground up in 48 hours.

And Carquest competitor Chief Auto Parts opened without fanfare May 7, after replacing broken glass and stolen merchandise.

Cleveland estimates that Carquest lost $1 million in the riots. Looters burned the retail store at Rosecrans and Wilmington avenues, then drove a forklift through the doors of the company warehouse next door and emptied it of inventory.

The business was fully insured, Cleveland said. With $200,000 invested by the store’s parent company, Cardis Corp., the auto parts company moved its retail center into a warehouse nearby.

The company was able to keep all store employees working throughout the rebuilding effort by transferring most of them to Carquest’s Buena Park warehouse, Cleveland said.

Sales clerk Alex Carrillo said he was happy to be back in Compton this week.

“I like the customers here, the people,” Carrillo said. “And I think it’s important the community knows that positive things are going on--that businesses are prospering.”

Cleveland agreed. “It’s not just dollars and cents. It’s also about supporting the community and the city with tax dollars.”

Caldwell said the city expects a revenue shortfall of about $500,000 in property and sales taxes for the 1992-93 fiscal year because of the riots. Nonetheless, he said, prospects are looking up.

“We’re still projecting losses for the fiscal year, but we’ve been able to reduce that loss significantly by cutting through red tape and helping businesses open again,” Caldwell said.