Business & Tech

Businesses Stayed Open as Long as Possible

Some businesses will try to open Tuesday.

Before the storm got too intense on Monday, some businesses opened their doors for customers to get last minute supplies.

At One Stop Market on Springs Fireplace Road in East Hampton, shoppers were buying up everything from batteries to Boar's Head.

"It's been crazy for the last two days," said Erin Hall, whose family owns the store. They opened at 6 a.m. and stayed open until about 1:30 p.m. "We're out of a lot of everything," she said about an hour before they closed, including propane.

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Larry Cantwell, the East Hampton Village administrator, stopped into the market to get a sandwich on his way home from Village Hall, which closed at noon.

Hall wasn't sure One Stop would open on Tuesday — perhaps by the afternoon, she said.

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Next door at Springs Fireplace Hardware and Video, owner April Sanicola said they had rented lots of videos and sold lots of batteries and flashlights on Monday morning. "People were really scrambling for the stuff they need," she said.

Her store has been really busy the past three days, giving "a very good boost to business." She's even been sending customers to other stores if she knows they have something that she doesn't.

For those looking to make hot toddies, and the like, while riding out the storm, Springs Wine and Liquors was opened. Lynn-Marie Valleau, who normally works on Monday, said the amount of customers "tripled."

There was no one type of alcohol or wine that was a best seller on this particular Monday. "They're just getting double of what they usually get," she said.

Red Horse Market also opened on Monday and had a steady stream of customers. "People were nice and friendly, in good spirits. No one was freaking out," said Sara Bertha, whose father Bill Bertha is an owner of the business in the East Hampton Village shopping center.

They started using the older credit card machines that take imprints of the card because they had a power surge and they didn't want to chance turning the electronic machines back on.

They plan on opening on Tuesday at 7, with or without power because they'll be there anyway to ensure the food doesn't spoil. "If the electricity's on, I'm putting on the coffee," said Terry Bertha.

Wainscott Hardware got a delivery mid-morning, but were still out of D batteries and flashlights. Tarps, bungee cords, ropes and lots of gas cans were on customer's last minute shopping lists, according to Maria Bartelme, whose father Juan Carlos Diaz opened the hardware store just this spring.

Walther Quiroz, of Springs, said he went to Kmart and Radio Shack before he found the batteries he was looking for at Wainscott Hardware.


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