On Thursday, Springfield hunkered down as the first winter storm of the season hit the Ozarks. On Friday, drivers braved the snow-caked roads and sub-zero temperatures to finish their holiday shopping.
At least, drivers who could start their car.
Grocery stores, box stores, boutiques and plumbers aren’t the only ones impacted by these winter weather events — auto shops expect an increase in business, though not until early next week.
Rick’s Automotive has been fielding calls from customers to postpone repairs due to the inclement weather. But in the following days, Rick's expects an uptick in cars entering their shop. A combination of those postponed repairs, limited holiday hours (they’re closed Monday, Dec. 26) and the impact of slick roads and freezing temperatures on vehicles will collide to force them to catch up early next week.
“We'll find that a day or two after, then we get cars that have been towed out of the ditches out in the country,” said Tim Fess, the general manager of Rick’s Automotive. “We'll have people that couldn't tow it in because of weather issues.”
Outside of problems that are a result of dangerous driving conditions, cars themselves may simply not agree with the cold. Fess said they could deal with anything from broken windshields, heater system issues and bad starters, among other things.
“Of course, we'll have an uptick in those kinds of repairs,” he said. “The batteries, the starters, the tires, they hit a curb because they didn't see it, that sort of thing … all the things that typically cars can fail with anyway with extreme temperatures.”
With time of the essence, last-minute holiday shoppers hit the road
Those whose cars were able to turn over Friday morning made the most of it, some taking care of last-minute Christmas shopping.
The Battlefield Mall greeted a steady stream of customers dressed in layers, parking as close to the doors as possible to avoid near 20-below-zero wind chills. Across the street, shopping at the Brentwood Center was already beginning to pick up around 10 a.m.
H.I.M and The Market, gift stores that carry clothing, decor, and other items, both of which are owned by Kent Stewart, had a handful of customers only half an hour after opening their doors. While Thursday's weather kept the customers at bay, neither Kent nor his daughter Lauren Haik, who operates The Market, knew exactly what to expect on Friday.
“It's just up to the person whether they want to get out or not,” Haik said. “… but typically both of our stores stay busy until Christmas Eve.”
While the few days before Christmas aren’t a determinant in their overall success around the holiday season, they do anticipate some last-minute shoppers to peruse their products.
“I have a lot of last-minute men [at The Market],” Haik said. “And then a lot of last-minute stocking stuffers, or ‘Oh my gosh, that person got me a gift, I didn’t expect it’ type of a thing.”
Emmilee Thomason, a customer at The Market, avoided venturing out Thursday, but was unaffected in her decision to do some holiday shopping on Friday. She was at her second stop of the day, having already secured gifts at Rally House and still planning to head to the Brown Derby International Wine Center.
“Normally, we get most of our Christmas shopping done fairly early,” Thomason said. “But this year, we were just kind of busy with other things and just kind of delayed in the process.”
Local jeweler unaffected by weather
While Thursday was slow for many, as people stayed home and businesses closed early, Maxon Fine Jewelry’s customers paid no mind to the weather.
“Snow, it kind of creates an urgency for folks to come out and do some shopping,” said Jessica Olson, the managing partner at Maxon. “Wednesday, we were very busy with the anticipation of the weather but even yesterday, we were constantly helping clients. Folks were off work, school out, so ‘let’s drive around and go shopping.’”
While the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas equate to their busiest time of the year, they typically have a lot of last-minute shoppers in the few days before Christmas. This year, despite the earlier-than-normal winter storm and deadly cold, didn’t change that.
