Fifteen years after Irene, plucky business owners recall the monster storm and its aftermath

WILMINGTON—Lisa Sullivan recalled the morning of Sunday, August 28, 2011, when raging flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene threatened to destroy the building that houses Bartleby’s Books. Water pressure on the building was so great from the “river” flowing down Route 9 that Sullivan’s husband, a builder, decided to open the front door to help the water to drain away, albeit through their…