Alexandria Businesses Reopen

(Thursday) February 11, 2010

By James Cullum

alexandrianews.org

Alexandria Hyundai surfaces after the storm (Photo: Jim Boissonnault)

Alexandria’s shops and restaurants are open and welcoming customers after the blizzard of 2010 blanketed the region with more than 30 inches of snow.

Businesses at the other end of Mt. Vernon have not cleared sidewalks. (Photo: Chris Newsham)

“The roads are clear, most of the sidewalks have been cleaned and people are venturing out and enjoying themselves,” said Maria Wasowski, co-owner of A Show of Hands on Mount Vernon Avenue. The consignment shop was closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but resumed business Tuesday. “Business has been okay. Most people aren’t interested in coming to shop when it’s snowing. The good news is that everybody’s open today and not that many people are driving. The restaurants opened right away after the storm and so did the coffee shops,” Wasowski said.

Del Ray Hardware distributing snow shovels on Tuedsay (Photo: Jim Boissonnault)

Business boomed for some retailers. “Business has been excellent. As long as we can keep snow shovels and ice melt in stock, it will continue to be wonderful. It’s just too bad we didn’t get in any toboggans and sleds,” said Chris Harvey, owner of The Hardware Store. “We’ve sold upwards of 1000 shovels since the snow started last week.”

The heaviest snow fell on Saturday, February 6 – the same day that the Sixth Annual Boutique District Warehouse Sale was going to be held at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. The clearance sale, with some prices reduced by 90%, attracts shoppers from as far as Richmond and Pennsylvania. The merchandise comes from local stores like Hysteria, Treat, The Shoe Hive, Periwinkle, Mystique Jewelers, Gossypia and others. But due to the snow, the sale will be held on Saturday, February 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Many of those stores, like sample-sale boutique Treat, are members of the Old Town Boutique District. “Treat is closed today, Wednesday, February 10, due to the blizzard conditions outside,” the Treat website said. “We expect to reopen tomorrow and be open the rest of the week with regular business hours, when the sun is forecast to shine again. Considering that I can’t see our neighbor’s house across the street right now due to the whiteout, I guess I’ll believe it when I see it. Speaking on behalf of (most) retail businesses everywhere, I hope the snow will melt quickly and never. ever. come. Back.”

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