Heavy snowfall and bitter cold forced many small businesses in the St. Louis area and the Metro East to temporarily close their doors.
Gioia’s Deli closed all five of its locations to prioritize the safety of its 73 employees. Owner Alex Donley told his employees to stay home Monday to dig out their cars and see if it was even feasible to make it to work on Tuesday.
“We just feel safer to shut down for their sake,” said Donley. “We typically don't make money at all when it snows, because St. Louis hunkers down. So it's a smart business move to shut down, but also it's good to keep the crew safe during all this.”
Donley said closing up shop is rare. It’s something that didn’t happen when his grandmother ran the shop during his childhood.
“She had a tank of a car, and we never ever shut down back then,” Donley recalled. “But that was back when we could walk to work. But now that we have five locations it’s just not possible for me to run all five by myself.”
Gioia’s Deli remained closed on Monday following the storm that brought nearly a foot of snow and below-freezing temperatures. Donley said Mondays are typically delivery days for meat and bread. While the winter storm did put a wrench in their daily operations, Donley said he’s confident that St. Louisans will continue to show up and support his family-owned business.
“St. Louis is amazing about that, and we actually will probably be really busy the rest of the week because the demand gets pent up and then it comes later in the week normally for us,” Donley said.
Gioia’s Deli reopens Tuesday.
Duke Bakery is another business hoping to shake off the freeze the winter storm had on daily operations. The bakery halted operations at its Alton and Granite City locations early on Saturday and have been closed since.
Longtime owner Ben Hollis, who has run the bakery for nearly 27 years, said closures are rare for the business, which is open seven days a week except on major holidays. Hollis said closing was a decision he didn’t take lightly.
“In many cases, payroll still goes on,” Hollis said. “The utility bill still goes on. So it does financially affect the business. But you just got to deal with it and realize that what you're doing is in the best interest of your customers and your employees. You just kind of suck it up and you hope that when you reopen that your good loyal customers will rush right back.”
Local Harvest Grocery in St. Louis’ Tower Grove South neighborhood closed its doors on Sunday to accommodate employees, many of whom walk to work.
Co-manager Becca Widzer said that leading up to the storm, the grocery store got a lot of foot traffic. That continued when they reopened their doors for business on Monday.
“We're also really lucky we're in such a walkable neighborhood,” Widzer said. “So even today when the streets aren't completely clear we have a lot of customers who are just kind of walking in if they need groceries or some people have commented they were going stir-crazy being at home.”
Widzer said the store shifted its approach to closures following the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think a lot of people might remember us for never ever being closed,” Widzer said. “But you know sometimes we can’t be open. Sometimes it’s not safe to be open. But it still is a challenge as a business to not be here when we’re expected to be.”
As more locally owned businesses reopen their doors, owners including Duke Bakery’s Ben Hollis encourage people to support small businesses.
“Small business is still the heart and soul of this country,” Hollis said. “Without these small businesses, things just wouldn't be the same. Communities wouldn't be the same. Towns wouldn't be the same. So I think the more that we can just get out, support our local businesses, and encourage your friends to do so, it just makes for a better community,” Hollis said.
Duke Bakery reopens Tuesday morning.
