For most Clark County residents, this week’s wintery weather will just be an unpleasant memory. While the snow and ice that had commuters struggling to get anywhere has already begun to melt, local business owners say impacts will stick around much longer. “We were fully closed for two days. Other days we were partially open, but nobody could get here,” said Leah Pickering, owner of Kazoodles Toys, 13503 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver. Pickering said the store has only been open two to four hours a day since Jan. 13, which has had a big impact on the store’s sales — as well as its employees. “Losing a weekend is bananas. This is as bad as those first weeks of COVID,” Pickering said, referring to the pandemic shutdowns in early 2020. While she’s grateful for the utility crews and the long hours spent clearing roads, she said the city needs to do more to prepare for winter weather. “They did a huge job … but we have to start having a different conversation because we are not a once-a-decade snowstorm community anymore,” Pickering said Friday. “That’s the real takeaway.” Pickering said waiting days for the ice to melt and roads to become passable is neither practical nor sustainable for Clark County businesses. “This burden has our employees off work for a week during a month when we may have already cut their hours a little bit,” she said. “This is not just a disaster for small businesses. This is a disaster for the employees of small businesses, financially speaking.” Pickering said she’s hopeful business will return to normal by early next week. Staff at The Mighty Bowl restaurant’s two locations and food truck found their hours significantly reduced because of the weather. “We tried to make it work on the days we did come in but even then, it was quite slow and not really worth being open,” said Anastasia Rivera, manager for the downtown location. By Friday, the downtown and Hazel Dell locations had reopened, although the food truck remained out of service until roads became more passable. The doors may be open but that doesn’t mean customers are ready to dine out. “We’re running a pretty big special today … just to get some feet in the door,” Rivera said. “I think people are just being a little cautious in venturing out again.” The restaurant will be closed over the weekend. Like Pickering, Rivera said they’re hoping business picks up again by early next week. “Hopefully they come out Monday and show some support. We’d love to see everybody,” she said. Margie Estrada, co-owner of Las Flamas Restaurant & Cantina in Vancouver said it’s been a very long and difficult week. “We closed just the one day and were open the next day,” Estrada said. Estrada and her husband co-own the restaurant at 10820 Northeast Coxley Drive. To ensure someone would be there to open the doors and serve customers, she said they camped out in the restaurant’s lobby. “It was just the two of us. We didn’t have employees,” Estrada said, adding they wanted to reopen as quickly as possible so they could recapture at least some of their lost sales revenue. Estrada said sales for the two slowest days of the week likely totaled less than $1,000, far below the restaurant’s average. “It’s been a rough week,” she said. “I think a lot of customers came out last night that could get out.” Estrada said they’re really hoping customers will start coming out to dine this weekend so the restaurant’s fresh food doesn’t go to waste. “We lost all of our sales and now we’re, potentially, going to lose food,” she said. Estrada said the restaurant already runs specials throughout the week — $2 Taco Tuesdays and fajitas for two on Wednesdays —which should help draw customers in. Like many businesses, Estrada used social media to connect with customers during the winter storms. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Estrada reminded patrons to visit their favorite small business and their employees once the snow and ice cleared up. “They’ve likely missed two days of work, which could make or break their bills for this month. They need you, and honestly, your community needs them,” she said.
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