LOWELL, Mich. — The stretch of winter weather is keeping neighbors home and away from local shops in downtown Lowell, prompting business owners to adapt as snow and icy conditions cut down on foot traffic.
Patty Dlouhy, owner of Sweet Seasons Bakery & Cafe, said the cold weather is impacting her bottom line.
"It's really hard on us, these times are hard," Dlouhy said, "I have to paint a gloomy picture but it's kind of rough on us first quarter."
Dlouhy said the winter weather has meant fewer customers coming through the door, and the impact extends beyond her business.
"It's not just us, it's the whole street, it's all the businesses," she said.
Just down the street, Wear Forward, a consignment boutique, is experiencing the same slowdown. Owner Victoria Runstrom said this winter has been particularly challenging.
"It's been super dead, very, very, very slow days," Runstrom said, "I always expect slow days in the winter, but especially slow this winter with all the blizzards."
The lack of shoppers has made Runstrom make difficult decisions about operations.
"I've definitely had days I've just even closed the store because it's not even worth having people come in and having staff come in," she said.
To combat the downturn, Runstrom is focusing on digital solutions to bring in revenue.
"Right now we're really focusing on getting our inventory online," Runstrom said, "I've actually built a whole software for our online system. Now, we're going to be able to get all our inventory on our website."
Wear Forward has also been running sales and promotions to encourage local shopping. Runstrom emphasized the importance of community support for small businesses.
"This is how we support our families. We love being here, we love doing our passions, but if people don't come and support us and make it a point to come shop in our little, small towns, we'll keep disappearing," she said.
Calvin Gondick drove from Grand Rapids to Sweet Seasons Thursday, choosing to work from the local bakery. He encouraged others to consider supporting family-owned businesses.
"With everything already being expensive as it is, if you spend the money anyway, why not like spend it on a family owned business just to support them," Gondick said.
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