Nicole Raz
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — Many area businesses took a hit over the weekend– being forced to close by the blizzard, but for those who could stay open the blizzard actually created a boost in sales.
“We did about $8,000 more,” says Dennis Wheeler, assistant manager at Metro Liquors on Columbia Rd. “It’s cold outside, people want their bourbons. We did a ton of bourbons, you name it–just a mixture of everything. Our shelves was completely empty…I mean, we did good.”
Down the street Smoke & Barrel, business is also looking good heading into the week.
“Being a bar, people like to socialize when weather gets bad. So, we actually had a nice crowd over the weekend,” Bartender Tom Holliday says he got a bit extra in tips too.
“People understand that a lot of people in the service industry had to make it out to get to work, and they were a little bit more generous this weekend.”
For other businesses, it was opportunity lost.
“We usually make our money on Saturdays,” said Val Logan, the owner of Idle Time Books in Adams Morgan. She says the blizzard cost her about a third of her usual sales.
Lorena Waters, the owner of Universal Hair Salon says she usually gets 50 customers a day over the weekend, but she had just a handful over the weekend.
She says she will offer discounts this week to try and make up for lost sales
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