Business was busy outside St. John’s
It was a bustle of activity at stores, gas stations and restaurants in Mount Pearl, Paradise and C.B.S. as state of emergency lifted for the day
With the parking lot full of vehicles and the checkouts lined with people and cart-loads of food, it looked a little like the day before Christmas Eve at Sobeys supermarket in Paradise Monday afternoon.
“It’s nice to get out, to be honest,” Heather Quilty said jokingly as she made her way through the produce department. “But I just needed some bread and fruit. I’m going to try and leave everything else for anybody who needs it.”
She was one of many who ran low of groceries and supplies after a monster storm hit the Avalon Peninsula on Thursday night, dumping up to 90 centimetres of snow and forcing businesses to close and residents to remain at home, as a state of a emergency was issued.
But as crews worked to clean up the mess, the state of emergency was temporarily lifted Monday in Paradise, Mount Pearl and Conception Bay South, drawing thousands out of their homes to go to supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, stores and gas stations to stock up.
Sobeys manager Niki Scott said the shelves were restocked Thursday night by their night shift.
“I was expecting a big crowd. … Even though we’re in Paradise, you don’t have to come to St. John’s to get to us,” said Scott, who made her way to work from her home in Torbay via Portugal Cove-st. Philip’s. “We were prepared and we had staff here at 6 a.m. ready to go.”
By 7 a.m., people were waiting outside the door to come in, including a woman with two small children, she said.
“When I got here at 7 a.m., half the parking lot was full of cars,” Scott said, adding that most customers needed bread, milk, fruit and vegetables. “It’s been a steady flood since. I have the best team here. Everybody was on board, just flat out. … Customers are so happy that we’re open. Some have stopped us to say thank you.”
Scott said staff had to assess expiry dates for food safety. She said the store participates in the food rescue program, in which it donates unsold, good food to the Paradise and Conception Bay South food banks.
Staff were kept hopping at Domino’s Pizza on Topsail Road Monday. Manager Hunter Parsons said the phones have been ringing steadily.
“It’s been super busy here, but we’ve got a lot of staff here. We’ve put about 60 pizzas out the door in an hour,” he said as staff scrambled behind him taking and preparing orders.
“The road conditions have been an issue for some of our drivers, but it hasn’t been too bad.”
Parsons said they haven’t been able to deliver to the St. John’s area, but noted Domino’s was given special permission from St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen to open its Freshwater Road location to hand out free pizzas to first responders.
“They’re working hard, so it was a nice thing to do,” Parsons said.
Next door, at the Medicine Shoppe, owners Jason and Pam Druken said people were relieved to have them open their doors.
“We’ve been helping people out of unique situations that can’t access medication in other areas,” said Jason Druken, adding that they’re also delivering prescriptions to seniors who haven’t been able to get out due to the snow.
He said “maintenance medications” have been in demand.
“You got a couple of days without some (medication) and it can have quite an impact on your health and your system,” he said. “We do a lot of specialty items for children here, but we’ve seen a lot of different needs. It’s about being able to help people maintain quality of life and keeping everything in check.”
There were lineups at the pumps at North Atlantic at times Monday, as people filled their vehicles, and gas containers for snow blowers.
The station had opened temporarily on Sunday, resulting in a lineup snaking around the store and out the door and in the parking lot. Manager Matt Oldford said when tensions arose with the crowd, he called the RNC and the store shut down.
Oldford said he didn’t get an official notice to stay closed, but after several requests from residents, he just wanted to help people get through a tough time.
“We tried to help them out as much as we could, letting parents get milk for their children and other grocery items and pet food,” said Oldford, adding that they opted not to sell lottery tickets Sunday to speed up service.
“And people were running low on fuel for snow blowers and generators.
“You get into a situation like this and it was fairly unprecedented. I don’t remember in my lifetime ever seeing anything like this, lasting days. … Nobody expected anything like this.”
It was a bustle of activity as well in Mount Pearl, where city crews were on Ruth Avenue removing snow and widening the streets amidst steady traffic.
Tim Hortons at the Esso gas station on Commonwealth Avenue had lineups out onto Commonwealth Avenue, as did Mcdonald’s up the street.
“It hasn’t been too bad here, but we’ve been kept going,” said Nicole Ryan, manager of Needs Convenience on Barbour Drive. “People have been dropping in to get essentials, but we’ve been selling lots of smokes and beer, too.”
In Conception Bay South, some gas stations ran out of gas.
“We’re getting a lot more people up this way today because of that,” said Jacab Dawe, who works at the North Atlantic Orange Store in Kelligrews.
The state of emergency will be reinstated for Tuesday as snowclearing efforts continue.
“But at least most people got what they needed today,” Dawe said. “Because they weren’t able to get anything the last few days.”