Businesses Do Better After Blizzard

While Port Washington was rocked by Wednesday's snowstorm and local businesses saw a drop in sales due to the weather, things got back on track today as residents were able to get out of their homes and catch up on their everyday lives.

Many local retailers, both small and large, said they saw an increase in consumer spending today and that the worst of it seems to be behind us.

"It's a typical day after a blizzard — gorgeous and sunny," Lou Babs and Moogs owner Helen Lieb said with a laugh. "I think things are sort of back to normal."

Lieb, who decided to stay closed yesterday, explained that it didn't make sense to open as many potential customers were either stuck in their homes due to the weather or to take care of their kids. "We lost a day of Valentine's Day shopping, but I think we will be OK," she said. "People have started to come in so that's a good sign. It'll obviously be better for stores than yesterday was."

Stop & Shop store manager David Friedman said that today was much better than yesterday and that there was a steady pace of customers coming in and out of the supermarket all day. "It's busier than yesterday," he said. "Customers are coming in for the usual products, but a lot of snow removal items too. It was very slow yesterday, but the people that did come in, I would say most of them were buying rock salt, shovels, lock de-icer, a lot of windshield scrapers, stuff like that."

Friedman added, "I can imagine places like restaurants were hit hard."

Actually, quite the opposite. Sullivan's Quay Restaurant and Bar did "decent" business under the circumstances yesterday, according to its manager, Catharine O'Neill. "We were open yesterday and did do business," she said. "We were open all day. For a blizzard, we did good. The bar was busy all day and we had a lot of people coming in for an early dinner."

Because many residents were trapped at home due to the storm, it seems as if they dearly missed their workout regimen. Om Sweet Om employee Alice O'Rourke said the yoga studio has been bustling since early Thursday morning. "Today has been better," O'Rourke said. "People have been coming in and it's been business as usual since eight o'clock."

Some businesses weren't as fortunate on the day after the storm. Ayhan's Mediterranean Marketplace was very quiet on Wednesday and is still slow today, according to employee Ihab Chaly.

"We're a little slow today," Chaly said. "We do have some customers but not as much as usual. It was worse yesterday. You could hear a pin drop in the place yesterday."