Back-to-Back Winter Storms Hurting Small Businesses

 Twitter” @markcurtisABC6 

The eggs were about the only thing sunny side-up at the “Avenue Grille” in North Providence. For the second straight, the diner has been hammered by a winter storm, and it’s really cutting into business.
 
“Very, bad; not good at all. Way off; very Slow; 80 percent off. Today we did very little,” said Avenue Grille Owner Kevin Carbone.

 
While most surrounding businesses were closed, the “avenue grille” prides itself in always being open:
 
ABC6 Chief Political Reporter Mark Curtis said, “The owner tells us that normally at noontime on Monday, this place is packed. Well for the second straight Monday, ‘Mother Nature’ has interfered.

Some loyal customers always show up, but only because they have the vehicles to do it.
 
“It’s impossible to go out with this kind of weather. I mean, I drive a 4–by–4. But in a regular car it would be tricky to get into the parking lot,” said customer Gilberto Arciniegas.
 
So business owners have a choice: close and make no money; or try to stay open, and minimize their losses. 

“Two weeks in a row. It could have been worse. It could have happened on a weekend. Weekends are my big ones, thank God it didn’t happen on the weekend,” said owner Carbone. 

And since insurance doesn’t cover a lack of customers, most businesses just have to swallow hard, and eat their losses.