Freddie Uloa unloads a storage unit door during construction of Downtown Self Storage along Broad Street on Monday.Some retailers cashed in on the cold-weather furor this weekend as shoppers rushed to stock up on winter supplies before today’s bone-chilling low temperatures — but others were left out in the cold.
Plumbers answered call after call for frozen pipes Monday, and some hardware stores nearly sold out of heaters, faucet covers, insulation, sleds, fuel and ice-melting salt. But area car washes expect to lose two days of business during the cold snap.
Sales were up across the region at Ace Hardware stores, said marketing manager John Router.
“If you just compare this to a normal January weekend without a winter weather event, we were close to twice as busy,” he said. “A lot of folks were trying to get prepped.”
At Ace Hardware of East Brainerd, employee Chris Gadd said the weekend rush was slowing by Monday, even as temperatures crept lower.