Some Businesses Open Without Power

There were no Big Macs, manicures, five-dollar Subway footlongs or CVS prescriptions to be had along the Chestnut Street commercial strip in Emmaus on Monday.

Power was out and most businesses closed in the wake of Saturday's damaging snowstorm.

But a few stores opened their doors and conducted transactions the old-fashioned way with cash and hand-written receipts.

The Emmaus Smoke Shop in East Penn Plaza opened its doors and posted a hand-printed "We're Open" sign since the store's neon sign won't light up. Clerk Travis Ballaron counted 11 customers Monday morning - including a woman who pulled up to the drive-thru window, asked for a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and said, "Is this crazy or what?"

Advanced Auto Parts was busy selling power inverters which can be used to turn automotive current into household current. Residents without electricity at home can use the inverters to run a coffee maker or charge a cell phone, said store manager Tom Ulrope.

"We're getting traffic," he said. "We're community minded so we want to be open for customers who need something."

Ulrope sold all eight of the power inverters in stock (they cost about $130) but he was expected a special order to arrive from another store.

The busiest stores in town were and a Hess gas station.

Outside Dr. Jay E. Kloin's office on Chestnut Street in Emmaus, Lori Kloin and her father Adam Butz were cleaning up branches that littered the sidewalk on Monday. The office was without power and closed for the day.

 "We have patients scheduled tomorrow," she said. "We'll have to see if we have electricity tomorrow."