Power outages create demand on merchants

After storms cut power, uprooted trees and flooded streets, some local businesses Friday found gold at the end of the rainbow.

But it was a frustrating way to earn a living.

Restaurants that remained open worked frantically to serve more meals than normal, and hardware stores ordered emergency shipments of generators and other clean-up products to keep up with demand.

Still, business owners and managers said their extra efforts helped consumers during a tough time.

For instance, the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Elmhurst Road in Mt. Prospect on Thursday night had customers lined out the door and around the drive-through until midnight. Five employees worked nonstop to serve weary residents with about 140 buckets of chicken, more than a typical night, said KFC spokesman Rick Maynard.

"We were fortunate that the restaurant had power and we were able to take care of the hungry customers who had lost power," Maynard said. "I guess Mother Nature left our power on because she wanted to make sure all the folks without power could enjoy a bucket of chicken for dinner."

Pizza Now in West Chicago cranked out more pizzas than normal Thursday, owner Gene Singer said.

"The storm had an excellent impact. We're open," Singer said. He did 40 percent to 50 percent more business than a regular Thursday. But the pizzeria backed up because he didn't have the staff to keep up with about 600 pizza orders.

The same was true at Gratzie Pizzeria in Hanover Park. The phones were ringing off the hook Friday at lunchtime. And the pick up and delivery business on Thursday night had a tough time keeping up with orders. Deliveries took about 1½ hours, compared with the typical 45 minutes, co-owner Estelle Priovolos said.

"It took a while for the drivers to get to the houses because so many streets were under water," Priovolos said. Customers picking up pizza were forced to wait up to an hour, instead of the typical 25 minutes.

Lowes hardware store on Algonquin Road in Arlington Heights saw generators, sump pumps, shop vacs, and clean-up supplies fly off the shelves. The store was expecting another truckload by Friday afternoon, said Lowes spokeswoman Karen Cobb.

"We're shipping an emergency order of goods so customers will have what they need to protect their homes," she said.

Dozens of people were lined up outside the Mount Prospect Home Depot when manager Mike Gurklis arrived at 6 a.m. Friday. Within hours, customers had wiped his store clean of flashlights, water vacs, generators and anything else that could make the blackout more tolerable.

"We're trying to do everything we can to help them," said Gurklis, who kept the store open until midnight Thursday. "We're a part of this community, too."

Gurklis and his employees had anticipated the run and began working the phones when the storms blew in Thursday afternoon. They asked suppliers to rush generators, bottled water and emergency supplies their way. The store also asked Home Depots in Rockford, downstate Illinois and Missouri to send anything they could spare.

The 24-hour Meijer grocery store in Rolling Meadows also saw their supply of generators and shop vacs sell out. Its own power outage forced Meijer to seek extra generators so it could stay open, store manager Jan Olszowski said.

"The only thing customers will notice is that there's half-lighting in the store because we're using all the power we can to keep the refrigeration on," he said.

Jewel-Osco stores in Lombard and Rolling Meadows were without power. "The issues are ongoing so I cannot give you a total on how the storm impacted the stores," spokesman Miguel Alba said.

Comcast, which has its Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg, said about 5 percent of its 2 million subscribers were without service Friday. The company offers phone, Internet and cable television services.

"We've been working to restore power with backup generators since (Thursday)," spokeswoman Angelynne Amores said.

Frustration also set in after employees arrived to work Friday at Lifetime Financial Partners, a mortgage company in Bloomingdale. The power, which went out Thursday afternoon, had been restored but the phone lines were dead.

"We have everything we need except for faxes and phones and that's a pretty critical part of our business," company President Dave Vance said.

Vance was told it might take several days before the lines are restored. "We're working off cell phones," Vance said. Home closings scheduled for Friday were able to go through because e-mail was used to send documents. However, closing companies attempting to reach Lifetime Financial Partners to disburse funds couldn't get through.

At area malls, traffic counts were down. A few shoppers called Westfield Hawthorn to make sure the mall was open before venturing out to shop, said Nicole Kneeland-Woods, marketing director for the Vernon Hills mall.

Many streets in Lake County were scarce Thursday evening. "The storm kept people form going out and shopping," said Dale Perrin, executive director of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce. "Thursday was a dead day in terms of sales."