‘The snow’s kicking our butts.’ Business owners look on the bright side as storm slams sales

With 15 inches — and counting — of snow so far, it’s been a chaotic week for Tri-City businesses.

From coffee shops that cater to school-bound teachers and parents to restaurants that rely on lunch crowds and hungry high school kids, business is down.

Way down.

“We cry a lot,” joked Jason Bergan, who owns Bergan’s Timeless Treasures, an antique shop in downtown Kennewick, with his wife, Amy.

The Bergans did the opposite of crying.

When the snow began falling, they trekked to the store to shovel off their sidewalk.

The Bergans cleared the walkway and dug pedestrian-sized holes through the plow berm so visitors could get to the front door.

Business was slow but the Bergans spent the day chatting with visitors and using the down time to catch up on their chores, like painting side tables.

The one downside: The antiques business depends on regular forays to Spokane, Seattle, Yakima and elsewhere to replenish their inventory. Those trips are on hold for the weather, leaving them with a week’s overstock stashed in storage.

Bergan’s was a relative rarity in downtown Kennewick, where many businesses were closed for lack of shoppers.

Balancing safety with earning a living

David Spaulding, director of the Wheelhouse Community Bike Shop, closed early Wednesday. Spaulding said he had to be mindful of the safety of the volunteers who help out at the nonprofit cooperative.

Wheelhouse advocates bicycling as a form of transportation and tries to stay open even when riding seems unlikely. “There are people who bike who have to,” he said.

Spaulding planned to reopen Saturday and is looking for volunteers to help clear snow off the parking lot in the back, which he hopes will keep the basement from flooding when temperatures warm up.

Dan Smith, director of the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership, praised city workers for plowing downtown streets. He said downtown is ready to reopen, but many proprietors are having a difficult time getting out of their own neighborhoods.

He advises would-be shoppers to check the Facebook pages of their destinations to make sure they are open before heading out.

Elsewhere in the Tri-Cities, business owners say they’ve closed to keep employees and customers safe.

Porter Kinney, the “Porter” in Porter’s Real Barbecue in Kennewick and Richland, said the winter weather puts small business owners in a bind.

“It’s not as simple as ‘just stay home and hunker down,’” he said. Owners want to open to ensure their families and employees can earn money. But they have to balance that against safety.

Porter’s closed Saturday and Sunday. When it reopened, it offered discounts on sides to thank customers who ventured through the weather to its door.

“Thankfully business has been good on the days we have opened but it’s impossible to make up for days that we closed,” he said.

Banking on Valentine’s Day

Isidro Ortiz made the same call to close Fiesta Mexican Restaurant locations in Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. Fiesta closed Saturday and Sunday, a first in the company’s 19-year history. Ortiz said safety was more important.

“This really takes a toll on our business, but I know that everyone gets affected by this weather and there’s very little we can do when Mother Nature strikes,” he said.

He hopes to make up the difference over Valentine’s Day weekend.

The Chicken Shack, with restaurants in Pasco and West Richland, also made the difficult decision to close over last weekend.

Justin Garcia, a manager, said the restaurants are doing their best to stay open, including offering specials and engaging with customers on Facebook with memes that make light of the tough weather.

“Come for the chicken wings,” read one. “Stay because you can’t find your car.”

Joel Watson closed his West Kennewick Avenue cafe, Just Joel’s, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, saying he wanted to keep employees safe.

“The snow’s kicking our butts,” he said.

Business was slower than normal, giving Watson time to make new pie flavors — peaches and cream, blue raspberry cream and mile-high strawberry.

Hubby’s Pizza on Columbia Drive in downtown Kennewick has managed to maintain regular hours, save for closing an hour early on Sunday when there were no customers. But the snow is taking its toll.

“It’s slow,” said supervisor Valerie Wilson. “But we’ve been open every day.”

Staying in?

So if people weren’t going out, were they ordering in? Maybe.

GrubHub, a meal delivery service operating in the Tr-Cities, confirmed customers are “more inclined” to order delivery in bad weather. But it declined to elaborate more on the current winter streak.

As long as people are stuck at home, it’s worth noting that local hospital delivery rooms could be busy in nine months — right around Thanksgiving.