For local small businesses, the wintry mix late Tuesday that turned city streets and highways into slippery sheets of black ice has brought logistical challenges and adjustments to normal operations.
As of 9 a.m., several local supermarkets and coffee shops were still closed or were not answering their phones. Others had opened late or had limited staff, as some highways remained closed and the CATS bus system was shut down until Thursday.
“We’re on a skeleton crew,” says Jim Crifasi, whose three Hi Nabor Supermarket locations were open before 9 a.m. “But there are not a whole lot of customers so it’s OK.”
Calvin’s Bocage Market was also open, though manager Brandon Lindsly didn’t know if the supermarket’s deli would have lunch service.
“None of the deli employees made it in,” he says. “A few of them live far out and the buses are not running.”
The Kolache Kitchen, which relies on the breakfast crowd for the bulk of its daily revenues, didn’t open at all. Owner Will Edwards was driving around to check out his two locations Tuesday night and decided it wouldn’t be safe to ask employees to come in at 4:30 a.m., as they normally do.
“I was on Jefferson Highway and this guy spun out and rear ended me,” he says. “It wasn’t his fault but it was bad out there and I was like, we’re not going to open tomorrow.”
Some business owners decided to open later, once temperatures rise and roads are, hopefully, in better condition. Kean’s Fine Dry Cleaning was planning to open at 1 p.m., according to owner Rock Rockenbaugh. Spectrum at Southdowns health club planned to open at 11 a.m. and The Big Squeezy juice bar was planning to open its Perkins Road overpass location only at noon with a special hot soup lunch.
“People really are not prepared for this weather here,” says The Big Squeezy owner Ash Shoukry, who has lived on both the East and West coasts. “I can drive in this kind of weather up East but the roads here this morning were bad.”
For many small businesses, it seemed as though the decisions about when to open, if at all, were made on the fly. Unlike hurricanes and floods, with which Baton Rougeans have a lot of experience and, therefore, protocols and plans in place, winter weather events are rare. Though forecasters had predicted today’s conditions several days ago, no one really knew how bad it would be or what it might mean.
As in hurricanes and floods, however, local businesses increasingly relied on social media, particularly Facebook, to keep their customers informed of their plans.
Despite the many adjustments, some businesses were going about their day as if it were a typical Wednesday. Matherne’s Supermarket downtown was open as usual with just one employee out due to weather. Simple Joe Café and Confectionary, a popular Government Street breakfast haunt, also was open with all employees on duty and doing a brisk business, according to owner Sean Braswell.
“I used to live in New England so this is nothing,” Braswell says. “We’ve already had 30 or 40 customers this morning.”
—Stephanie Riegel
