Storm impacts community's stores

SANDPOINT — It was anything but business as usual in Sandpoint following the damages and power outages caused by Saturday’s destructive thunderstorm.

Regardless of the industry, it’s rare to find a business that wasn’t affected by the storm. Certain types of businesses, however, were more affected than others — some negatively and others positively.

Grocery store managers and personnel found themselves rushing to save perishable foods and supply residents with essential emergency items. According to Scott Day of Yoke’s Fresh Market, the grocery store was fortunately able to limit spoiled food thanks to a 48-foot refrigerated truck that was making a scheduled delivery.

Store personnel were able to load perishable items onto the truck, saving a great deal of inventory in the process.

Similarly, Steve Furin of Super 1 said grocery store workers saved most of their fresh foods thanks to the availability of refrigerated trucks. While some freshly-cut meat had to be thrown out, the majority of items were rescued, and the freezer never raised above freezing temperatures throughout the eight-hour outage. The business stayed open while power was down, during which time they sold “pallets and pallets” of ice as well as many deli and bakery items. Monday proved busy as well, as many people showed up to restock food once power returned, Furin said.

Wal-Mart had a somewhat tougher go, as corporation spokesperson Brian Nick confirmed the business lost significant amounts of perishables. However, the supercenter was able to successfully enact emergency protocols and restock emergency items like batteries and water through last-minute shipments.

“We’re pleased that all the safety measures worked out,” Nick said.

Safeway also lost significant amounts of perishables, manager Shirley Sands said. The store is offering plenty of overtime to staff to help clear out food and gradually resupply. While the experience has had its share of unfortunate and frustrating moments, Sands said she’s proud of both her team and Sandpoint.

“You really get to know your community and your staff when a catastrophe like this happens,” she said.

Local coffee shops had a surprisingly productive Sunday morning in the aftermath of the storm. Both Evans Brothers Coffee and Monarch Mountain Coffee owners said the days were their busiest of the year so far. People, most of whom still had no power at their homes, crammed into coffee shops to get their morning java, charge their cell phones and swap stories.

Property management company associates have busy days ahead of them as they continue to assess property damage and work with insurance companies to cover repair costs. Ned Brandenberger of Sandpoint Property Management said that while relatively few properties in the company’s portfolio endured major damage, there was still plenty of work to be done. For example, he said the winds managed to tear one roof around two tons heavy from its fixings and fling it across the road, taking out a 15-foot utility pole along with it.

“It was one of the most impressive bits of storm I’ve seen,” he said.