Blizzards, Holidays, and Customers

YES, the recent snow showers and icy roads have had their effect on our business.

In general, the month of December is a slower month for us at the ODB as far as regular Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner anyway. Since we are not located anywhere near a mall or shopping center, regular traffic tends to head to Eugene for a combination of shopping and eating. Instead, we rely on the addition of holiday parties to pick up the slack in our business. Well, we had TWO of those private Christmas parties cancel in ONE DAY as a result of weather complications! Even while we understand that driving from Eugene and Junction City to Veneta could be treacherous, it's hard to feel good about the situation.

Listening to other restaurant, retail, and lodging people I found that we were all in similar circumstances. The weather kept everyone home. In tourist areas that relied on incoming hotel guests to frequent the local businesses, I saw a much greater effect on those business than we experienced. All along the Oregon Coast, small town restaurants and gift shops that relied on holiday tourist stays at the local inns and hotels were sadly disappointed by the numerous cancellation that came through due to weather. I know there are areas of the country that have snow on the ground for a good four months of the year, but that's not us. One inch and the school buses stop running. Five inches and we don't leave the house unless we have to. I bet states like Maine or Wisconsin laugh when they hear about the closures and effect of the weather on our local economy. What can I say? We're Oregonians!