Business & Tech
Batteries and Flashlights Selling Out Across Town
With Hurricane Irene inching up the coast, Wellesley residents are taking warnings seriously and stocking up on groceries and essentials to make it through the bad weather and its aftermath.
There’s not a D battery to be found in town, and at , Assistant Grocery Manager John Zani said by Friday at noon they’d just about sold out of the 1,200 cases of bottled water that arrived at 6 the previous night.
“I put in an order for another 1,200 cases for tonight,” he said. But already the distributor is running out of stock so Zani expects he’ll receive just 560 of those cases.
With weather reports warning that Hurricane Irene could hit Massachusetts by Sunday with torrential rain, strong winds, flash flooding and rising tides, Wellesley residents are taking no chances and stocking up on flashlights, batteries, water and food.
Find out what's happening in Wellesleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“It’s been really busy with the storm and people getting ready for back to school next week,” said Roche Bros. Associate Julie Ackley.
It’s the same story next door at , where the battery case is virtually empty.
Find out what's happening in Wellesleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“It’s been crazy, a mad rush, that’s really what it is,” said CVS Merchandizer Kevin McCusker.
“All kinds of people have been coming in looking for batteries, but mostly mothers who want to be prepared,” he said.
CVS is expecting a special order of batteries to arrive Friday night, but employees there weren’t sure they’d actually arrive.
“We put out a whole bin of lanterns and flashlights and they were sold out in minutes,” McCusker said.
It’s the same story over at where Tom Green said his weather dependent business is booming because of the hurricane warnings.
“Everyone is coming in looking for the basics, flashlights and batteries,” he said.
Like other stores in town he’s sold-out of D batteries. And, he said, he’s just about sold out of the shipment of 100 flashlights that arrived Friday morning.
“People are taking this seriously,” he said.
In addition to the flashlights and batteries people are buying in case of power shortages, Green’s is also selling a fair number of fuel containers to people who have generators.
He said he’s also sold more sheets of plywood today than normal for an average Friday in August which people are using to board up windows at beach houses.
