Winter Storm Juno is wreaking havoc for many small businesses. The storm forced many businesses to close on Tuesday due to blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall across much of New York and New England.
Despite the widespread pain, though, some small businesses found opportunity in the storm.
Restaurants that decided to stay open were among the potential beneficiaries of the bad weather. Restaurant owner Danny Meyer offered customers free corkage at all of his New York City restaurants on Monday and Tuesday evening, while other restaurants doled out everything from happy hour prices to free mulled wine to guests who braved the storm. “Game on!” Meyer wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to our staff for coming in. Your turn now NYC!”
Local delivery services were also scrambling to serve customers ordering groceries, restaurants meals and other goods from the comforts of home. Food-delivery companies such as Seamless and GrubHub reported surging traffic in New York and Boston in the hours leading up to the storm on Monday. Drizly, an alcohol delivery company that serves the Boston and New York areas, reported that its traffic spiked 477 percent on Monday, according to BetaBoston.
However, some delivery operators had their profits curtailed by local officials who demanded they get off the roads and sidewalks during the brunt of the storm late Monday and early Tuesday. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, for example, instructed delivery workers, even those traveling by bike or foot, to stop working by 10 p.m. Monday.
Some online retailers were also trying to maximize the storm. Lauren Merkin, a handbag seller, sent out emails on Monday including a 20-percent discount to customers who used the code “Juno,” according to Bloomberg. The company instructed shoppers to “Stay Cozy. Stay Safe. Shop Now.”
Small businesses that sell snow- and ice-related goods naturally embraced the massive snowfall.
Bulldog Cleaning Service of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania makes most of its year-round revenues cleaning office buildings and carpets. But it also sells road salt and offers snow removal. Owner Zachary Konell told the Associated Press that he expected a nice uptick in business, thanks to Juno.
"I'm grateful for the snow this time of year and I'm looking forward to getting rid of a lot of this salt," he added.
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