Last Week's Heavy Snowfall Impacted Some Downtown Businesses

Anyone who has lived in Michigan long enough knows that it has been a mild fall season and so far, winter wasn't too bad either. That is, until last week.

Luckily this week, for last-minute shoppers, the weather is looking up. On Monday, partly sunny skies are expected with a high of 25 degrees. On Tuesday 1-3 inches of snow is possible, according to the National Weather Service. And on Wednesday and Thursday clear skies are forecasted with temperatures in the upper 20s.

The snow and cold temperatures that blew through Northville last Sunday morning and left an icy mess that impacted the area for several days afterward – including some of the downtown businesses. While some businesses did see a decrease in customer traffic, others increased.

 saw a decrease in sales the first half of the week and even as far into the week as Thursday. Employees, Gabby Mortimer and Kristen Engstrom both agreed that it was somewhat of a slow week.

"There was definitely less people coming in." Engstrom said.

Mortimer went on to say why she thought business might be down.

"We have a lot of older customers who don't like driving on the snowy roads. Since there is no parking in front of the store, it get's hard to get around."

Even on Thursday, they both agreed that they would normally have more for that day's lunch crowd.

On bitter cold days, the likes of which we saw last week,  would be a place to warm up and relax. Teresa Berent, the coffehouse owner, said other than Monday morning, business was steady.

"By the afternoon on Monday, things were normal. The evening was busy and the same for Tuesday." said Berent. "I think people get cabin fever staying in the house. They have to get out somewhere. Here, they can hang out, do their bookwork. We're right near a neighborhood, so people don't have to drive their cars."

, and gift shop on Center Street saw a dramatic decrease in customers on Sunday and Monday. Owner, Tiffany Zendejas said Wednesday and Thursday were much better.

"I think it's because the sun is shining outside" said Tiffany. "People, I think, want to get out. Prior to that, Sunday and Monday, when it was bitter cold, it was really quiet (around here). On Monday, we were here for about five hours and had maybe 5 or 6 people come in."

Things were much different for Dan Argonis, owner of , near the corner of Main and Center. Argonis says today's consumer waits until the last minute, so there was a big increase of boot sales.

"Snow is always a good thing for the shoe business," he said. "When the snow falls, the cash register rings. A lot of people wait until the last minute. The people that didn't buy snow boots from us earlier in the year, have now waited for the snowfall to buy."

There are many reasons to shop in downtown Northville. With the snow and cold, some seemed to have more reasons than others.