Closed for business: Restaurants, childcare and others shutter shops amid major snowfall

Amid record-breaking snowfall that covered many parts of Long Island in as much as 2 feet of snow, local businesses closed in light of road closures and harrowing weather conditions Sunday into Monday.

On Long Island, where small businesses make up the overwhelming majority of enterprises, the loss of even a single day of business can mean the loss of potential thousands in revenue, local experts said. But for many, given the conditions on the roads and the expected drop in customers, it was a decision that had to be made. 

Local economists said that combined with late January's heavy snowfall, this year's winter has likely had a broader economic impact than in past years.

“We’re not out of February,” said John Rizzo, economist and professor at Stony Brook University. “I think this winter will probably have the biggest economic impact we’ve seen from winter storms in years.”

Rizzo said that for a car-dependent region like Long Island, local businesses can often expect low consumer demand, making the decision to close reasonable. That still doesn't mean it's an easy decision to lose out on potential revenue, especially for businesses reliant on in-person foot traffic. 

"It's bad for the brick-and-mortar stores," Rizzo said. "It's also bad for businesses where workers can't work remotely."

Steven Kent, chief economist for the Long Island Association business group, said at the macro economic level, research has shown that extreme weather events that lead to business closures don't often have a major impact on the broader economy. However, for individuals reliant on hourly pay or small businesses struggling to keep the lights on, the loss of commerce can have a bit of a multiplier effect.

“The loss of wages for one or two days doesn’t sound a like a lot until it applies throughout the whole economy," Kent said. "It doesn’t affect just a day’s spending; it can be longer term.”

Dorothy Roberts, president of the Long Island Hospitality Association, which represents both hotels and restaurants on the Island, Monday’s blizzard led to likely thousands of guest cancellations across both counties.

“It’s definitely had an impact on hotels and restaurants,” Roberts said early Monday afternoon. “Right now, we can see a lot of cancellations coming in through Thursday.”

With the exception of some travelers who may have had to extend their stays, Roberts said that hotel operators were taking a financial hit in the wake of the storm, with only some trickles of business coming in from utility repair crews and health care workers needing to stay closer to hospitals.

“Some PSEG utility crews came in prior to the storm,” Roberts said. “That’s some added business.”

As for restaurants, Roberts said the owners she spoke with, with perhaps the exception of smaller stores and delis, opted to close their doors Monday in anticipation of reduced customer demand and concerns over employee commutes.

Roger Bedoian, owner of Ragazzi Italian Kitchen and Bar in Nesconset, said Monday that he made the decision to close at 5 p.m. Sunday and didn't expect to open until 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Bedoian, who had a couple of large parties of guests cancel Sunday reservations, said he was more concerned about the customer and employee safety than the loss of a single day’s revenue.

"Financially, it's terrible, but there's more important things in life aside from making money," Bedoian said. “Years ago I would stay open, but my staff and my customers’ safety are too important to me. You can always make up the lost business down the road.”

In anticipation of the blizzard, Bedoian said he purchased fewer  products going into the weekend to ensure that not too much would be wasted in a closure.

 Bedoian said he took the lost day of business in stride. 

"I've a got a little Yorkie sitting next to me, I'm wearing baggy sweats, and I'm enjoying my coffee," he said during a Monday afternoon phone call. "You don't get that luxury often in this business.”

A rare closure

Sharon Boyle has owned a gym for women in Sayville called Curves for nearly 20 years and could not remember the last time she had to close for a full day because of the weather.

But she did close on Monday – the snowstorm was that bad.

“We mostly only stay open. It’s rare when we don’t. Today is rare,” Boyle said. Even on many snow days for schools, she typically opens for part of the day if people can get around. Monday, there was no option – she could not even get out of the driveway of her home near Curves, which is located on Main Street next to a Shop & Stop supermarket.

“I’m shocked, totally shocked” by the amount of snow, Boyle said.

The one-day closure won’t affect the business end of Curves – patrons pay on monthly so there is no lost revenue, Boyle said.

She hoped to reopen Tuesday,  "as long as I can get in and out of my driveway, "she said.

Cancelled child care

Yohaina Martinez, a licensed day care operator who owns Little Feet Big Steps Daycare out of her home in North Babylon, said she would have had 16 children to look after Monday had she not closed for the day.

“We typically will close once the school district announces they are closing, but as soon as Suffolk County put out that alert Sunday that due to the weather there was a travel ban, we immediately let our families know,” said Martinez, who launched the day care in 2023.

“They were definitely expecting this to be bad, and they were right,” she said.

Martinez said her business, like many child care providers, is paid for on an enrollment basis, so she didn’t necessarily lose money Monday. But she still paid staff and won’t be able to be reimbursed by the state for food she purchased for the children.

Nevertheless, she decided Monday evening to keep her center closed Tuesday as well.

Braving the storm

Despite the mass closures, some business owners braved the elements and saw limited foot traffic on Monday.

Bruce Bergen, who operates a small family-run business in Bayport called Aladdin Fuel Service, said he drove all the way from his home in Mattituck to open his business on Monday. He arrived three hours late, at 8 a.m.

Surprisingly, he got customers – about 40, compared to a normal day of at least 150, he said. Most were plow truck drivers looking for gasoline or diesel, or people buying kerosine or propane for generators, heaters or other uses. Aladdin also sells home heating oil.

Other than those hardy customers, “there’s nobody outside today,” Bergen said. “The general public – I don’t think they got out of their pajamas today.”

“I don’t think we’re going to have too many people in tomorrow either by the looks of the cleanup,” he added. “I’m a little pooped out right now like everybody else. I shoveled a lot just to get the truck out” from his house.

Aladdin was getting far fewer service calls than normal, such as for water not hot enough or one zone of a house not warm enough, since people tend to let minor problems slide during a major snowstorm.

“You don’t hear about it when it’s a crisis like this,” he said.