A year ago Thursday, three tornadoes touched down in Kokomo, Indiana, damaging homes and businesses throughout the city and injuring at least 15 people.

One of the more remarkable stories from that day involved a group of workers and customers at a Starbucks store that collapsed when one of the tornadoes, packing 130-mph winds, passed nearby. The manager on duty, Angel Ramos, was hailed as a hero after ushering customers into the store’s bathrooms minutes before the twister struck. He spoke with the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune and shared his memories of the events of the day.

Ramos started his shift at Starbucks before 1 p.m., trading off with Susan Shockney, another shift manager. He knew there was a chance for severe weather, but recalled thinking “Eh, it’s Indiana. Pretty normal.”

His day ended up being anything but normal.

It was approaching 3 p.m. when Ramos took his first break. They had been busy that afternoon and the store was still filled with about 20 patrons.

“As soon as I sat down, the alarm on my phone started blaring,” he said. “Literally three seconds later the phone rang and it was my manager, the store manager.”

They quickly discussed the tornado warning that had just popped up, and Ramos agreed that he would “keep an eye on it.” He knew that safety protocol was to take all employees and customers to the bathroom and remain there until the warning passed.

“I found the first aid kit and got everything kind of ready just in case,” Ramos said.

The phone alert sounded again. People inside Starbucks were also looking at their phone alerts, but did not seem exceptionally concerned or panicked, Ramos said. He knew what he needed to do and tried to see as calm and collected as possible.

“I was trying to keep the mood as light as possible so I was like ‘Hey, we’re taking a field trip to the bathroom,’” he said. “It went really smoothly.”

The crew at Starbucks guarded the doors after ushering everyone into the bathrooms.

“I stood by the front door to see if there were any stragglers that wanted to come in,” Ramos said. “There was at least one person that came to the door and when I told him we were in the bathrooms he went back to his car. A few minutes later he came back and knocked on the door.”

Ramos looked over toward a nearby Best Buy, and saw “debris flying, the funnel cloud and what looked like pretty much the coolest CGI-looking thing ever.”

That’s when he got into the women’s bathroom.

“Right before I shut the (bathroom) door I looked outside and saw the window panes doing one of these numbers,” Ramos said, gesturing in a waving motion. “So I thought, ‘Oh, we might have to replace a few windows.’”

He said it sounded like some rumbling and a lot of wind.

“There were a lot of ladies in the women’s restroom that were screaming,” Ramos said. “We all got down on our knees and put our hands over our necks like they teach you in school, almost like a reflex. The lights went out and it was over pretty quick.”

He tried to open the bathroom door. It wouldn’t budge. He looked up and could see a bit of light out of the ceiling, so he thought they lost some of the roof.

Not even a few minutes passed before people heard someone knocking on their door. Ramos assumed it was the other costumers and crew from the men’s bathroom.

“All of a sudden I start hearing drills and stuff and they are trying to tear the door down,” he remembered. “The door cracks open and I see daylight. That’s not normal.”

The whole front of the store had been flattened. Customers and crew members alike climbed out of the rubble — completely unscathed. People stood around, dazed, as a group of maintenence men who had been working next door at Chili’s started to free people trapped in the men’s bathroom.

Remarkably, everyone was fine.

In the media coverage of the storm’s aftermath, Ramos quickly became recognized as a life-saver on social media and other news organizations.

“There was no getting used to that,” he said. “I’m still not used to it — I’m still getting recognized just going to the store to get groceries.”

Ramos continued to work for Starbucks until the end of last year, when he left to pursue a career in construction.

“Even to this moment that was the best job I’ve ever had,” Ramos said of his previous employment at 1400 S. Reed Road. “That particular Starbucks had all their ducks in a row and made them do a dance.”

When asked if he keeps in touch with any of his former co-workers, Ramos laughed and said, “Well, I married one of them.”

Ramos and Shockney, his fellow shift manager, wed two weeks ago. She too had to escort customers into the bathroom there during a tornado in 2013. They live together in Kokomo with their cat, Cinnamon.

A new Starbucks may open on the site of the destroyed store as early as November, Markland Mall General Manager John Campbell said. Ramos is looking forward to it.

“I look forward to spending another morning there, just hanging out with regulars, drinking coffee and maybe even getting a new watch,” he said.

Details for this story were reported by the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune.