'Buying Rock Salt Like Crazy': South Nassau Hardware Stores Stocked With Storm Supplies

NASSAU COUNTY, NY. — As Long Islanders brace for a winter storm that could drop anywhere from 8 to 15 inches of snow on their doorsteps, Long Island hardware providers are packing their shelves with all the equipment needed to handle that storm.

At Atlantic Hardware in Freeport, employees said they would be receiving three trailers’ worth of rock salt deliveries Friday, the first of which arrived around 8:30 a.m. Those trailers, an employee said, contained three pallets of rock salt each, with 55 50-pound bags of salt on each pallet.

Even as frigid temperatures descended on the south shore Friday, the employee said storm preppers at the Freeport location had already been coming in early and often. The traffic, however, was hardly out of the ordinary for a storm of this magnitude.

“With the amount of snow we’re getting, this would usually be the norm,” the employee said. “But we haven’t really had snow in a while. I think the last really big snow storm we had was in 2021.”

While Friday would see plenty of deliveries, the Atlantic Hardware employee said most customers had come in on Thursday to beat the rush.

“They all came in yesterday to get everything, salt sold out quickly, that’s why I’m glad we’re getting a delivery today, all the sleds are gone,” the employee said at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, in Roosevelt, customers had been “buying rock salt like crazy” since 8 a.m., when SBS Hardware opened. An employee at SBS said the store would be receiving two pallets of rock salt Friday morning, with 100 25-pound bags of salt on each pallet.

“We also had eight-dozen shovels delivered, and we had sold a lot of shovels yesterday,” the SBS employee said.

SBS had also extended its Friday hours, normally open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., to close at 7 p.m. Friday. When asked if there was any “under the radar” snow-safety equipment in stock that Long Islanders might need, the SBS employee said customers may want to pack a light.

“Batteries and flashlights,” the employee said.

At Miller's True Value in Lynbrook, employees said there was a line of 10 people waiting at the front door when the store opened at 9 a.m. While the store had ordered snow supplies, an employee said the staple items like rock salt and shovels were moving quickly.

"As soon as it comes in, that's when it comes off the shelf," the employee said.