Business As Usual Not the Case for Attleboro Shop Owners

When some local owners are asked if the cold and stormy wintry blasts have adversely affected their small businesses in Attleboro, they have no surprising responses or revelations. To one degree or another, business in general is off, they agree.

But there have been some bright spots amidst the battering of storms all business continue to endure. Showing lots of resiliency, full understanding of their business and often clever in-store promotions of their products and services (and sometimes on websites), they keep their businesses rolling.

Lorraine Nye, owner of , 163 Pleasant St., sums up just about all the problems her business and others have likely endured in this storm-plagued winter.

“There has been a tonnage of snow,” Nye said, referring to the eight-foot mounds around the parking lot. “Front and back there is no place left to put the snow. That has prevented people from easily coming in and going out, and in parking.”

“Our employees (10 total) have had a hard time getting here, we sometimes have not opened up on time and it is sometimes hard to make the deliveries," Nye said. "The last storm was the worst because of the slush.”

One business ace up the sleeve at Pleasant Street Printing  is their unique drive-through. “I’m glad we have it because a lot of people don’t want to come in during this weather,” Nye said.

Ann Hunt, owner of , 73 Union St., said that except for one day- the Wednesday storm- business had “been a little less than expected”  and only off ‘a tad’ during the winter doldrums. “We didn’t send out a driver yesterday,” she said.

Ron Carlstrom, who delivers floral arrangements for Flowers by the Station and helps in appointments and other aspect of the florist business, says “storms don’t affect us as much. Most of our business- about 80 percent is done on the phone and they do not have to come in to see our product. We also have well-established clients.”

Owner and registered pedorthist Gary Lavoie of whose store on 508 Pleasant St., deals in selling and repairing a wide range of footwear, custom shoes and orthotics, says “business is off in repair and selling, but that waterproof shoes, socks and overshoes are doing well. But in other areas, everything else is hurting.”

And like many store owners locally, Lavoie says he "spent lots of time shoveling" , not just around his store in a three-store plaza where large mounds of snow have reduced the number of spaces. “I shoveled the roof,” said the owner of the 32-year-old family-owned business, saying he wanted to avoid the same fate as other stores have recently.

As for the salt stains and damage on shoes many people are experiencing, he says that those repairs are often delayed until the spring.

And Lavoie also has a bench that rises as high as four feet in the air, thanks to a specially-installed motorcycle lift, so he can easily inspect their feet and comfortably fit shoes on each client, if they wish.

Scott Dubuc, owner of , 272C County St., has a small parking lot like most of the other businesses. But he has one distinct advantage over many others. “We have been affected by only one storm because of our scheduling,” he said. “We can be flexible because most of our business is from established clientele.”

“Parking, cold, ice. Everything is affecting us,” said Peter Khoury, part owner and 16-year worker of on 494 Pleasant St., in the same plaza as Footworks. Their deli includes everything from a variety of sandwiches and salads, Middle Eastern food, beverages, pastries and assorted catering platters.

So business and commerce in Attleboro does carry on despite the shared difficulties affecting all residents and businesses in this remarkable winter. And these businesses and others want everyone to know they are ready to go most days, be it snow, sleet, rain, slush or occasionally shine.