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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane’s small businesses still recovering from storm

Customers spent Small Business Saturday at local shops getting a doughnut, buying a vinyl record or having a meal. It was a welcome sign for small shops, many of which still are recovering from the windstorm power outage that lasted for days.

Mary Lou’s Milk Bottle restaurant in the Garland District is known for its burgers and milkshakes. When the business lost power the evening of Nov. 17, employees tried to save the ice cream by moving it to a different location with a generator-powered freezer, co-owner Dan Ritchie said.

But a breaker blew and no one noticed until the next morning, when the ice cream was too far gone to save.

“As soon as it gets soft and refreezes, it crystallizes,” Ritchie said. “We probably lost about 70 percent of our ice cream.”

Ritchie said the business lost about 40 3-gallon tubs of ice cream plus about 60 quart containers. That was in addition to the meat, cheese and other perishables needed to run a restaurant.

The power came back the night of Nov. 19, but Ritchie couldn’t restock from his normal supplier, Angus Meats, which also was out of power. He had to visit Costco to purchase supplies.

On the south side of Garland Avenue the power didn’t come on until Nov. 20. The record shop Groove Merchants opened the next day, but business was slow.

“Unfortunately people without power aren’t buying records,” Joel Severson said.

But business was bustling Saturday as shoppers crowded into the tiny store that offers turntables and has 7,000 to 8,000 records to browse.

“Most of what we are selling is tried-and-true classic rock,” Severson said. “Today’s been probably our best day this year.”

A few doors down, the Rocket Bakery also was back in business. There was no option but to shut down for the duration of the power outage, said manager Tom Okura.

But the store’s supplies didn’t go to waste during the storm. The milk was taken to other Rocket Bakery locations that still had power, Okura said.

Casual Friday Donuts on Division Street was able to make do with a generator during the power outage, thanks to some appliances that run on natural gas, manager Leslie Knapp said. The business had no heat, but could make doughnuts and brew coffee.

“We couldn’t do espresso because it took too much power,” she said.

Businesses and homes around them were dark, but people soon realized they were open. Customers were constantly in and out, Knapp said.

“We got definitely a lot more of a rush,” she said.

The Donut Parade on Hamilton Street never lost power and became an oasis for people in search of warmth, electricity and a good doughnut.

“It was crazy,” employee Alex Bown said. “People had nowhere to sit. They were standing to drink their coffee.”

People would stay to warm up and charge their phones. But they also bought doughnuts, lots and lots of doughnuts – so many that the shop ran out of flour.

Their normal supplier had lost power and was closed, said co-owner Christian Reno, so they bought some flour from other doughnut shops like Mike’s Old Fashioned Donuts and Donuts To Go.

“We went through all our normal amount and the backup,” Reno said.

There was often a line out the door and down the block. Some regular customers brought homemade lasagna for the employees to eat as they hustled to serve customers.

People were buying doughnuts by the dozen to hand out to utility crews, and the shop also offered free doughnuts and coffee to any linemen who came in, Reno said.

“It was like a family reunion,” Bown said. “They just kept coming back and brought more people with them.”