Business owners in Arkansas discuss how the latest winter storm has affected their revenue

Little Rock, Arkansas – Schools and several businesses are still forced to close due to the winter weather until more roads are cleared. Since the storm, consumers have been very appreciative, according to the owner of a food store in Little Rock.

Heights Corner Market’s owner, Eric Herget, claimed that his company’s decision to remain open throughout the hurricane had a significant positive impact on Arkansans.

“We’re gonna be open, we’re never closed for weather,” he said.

Along with other household goods, customers were observed on Wednesday grabbing food to keep their families warm.

A problem with his restaurant did force them to close at six o’clock, rather than eight, according to Herget.

“We’re not able to cook our full menu because I can’t run the dish pit right now, so these temperatures really hurt us from more of an equipment standpoint than having stuff on the shelves,” Herget said.

Herget stated that the inability of his staff to report for work during this weather event has presented additional difficulty. He mentioned that he occasionally picked up workers. According to Herget, worker safety comes first.

Heights Corner Market patron Sandra Marbaise said she could rely on her local store to be open during a period when many food stores were closed.

“When you’re in a situation like this where you really don’t want to do a lot of driving around,” Marbaise said. “I don’t know what we would do without it honestly.”

Not every company reopened on Wednesday.

According to Jack Sundell, a co-owner of The Root Cafe, they haven’t opened since late Sunday. He claimed that workers who are in need of the funds have suffered.

“In general winter storms aren’t great for business, but they’re often a hit to staff as well because our hourly employees aren’t able to get to work so that effects their monthly income as well,” Sundell said.

According to Sundell, a contributing factor in their closure since late Sunday is the presence of employees whose children are not in school. Personnel safety, he stated, is a primary priority.

“I know a lot of businesses are reopening today, but we figured it would be safer to make sure that you know we can get back to work tomorrow,” he said.

According to Sundell, they plan to reopen on Thursday. Given that adjacent school districts will be closed, he expressed uncertainty about whether business will soar.

“I really think at this point tomorrow, I know school is still out so that’s gonna have an impact, but people will get back to normal pretty quickly,” he said. “I have a feeling tomorrow will start to feel like business as usual pretty quick.”

According to Sundell, their most recent three-day closure occurred during the winter storm in February 2021. He noted that the length of time they are closed varies with each winter storm.