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The snowstorms of last week brought out the best and worst in people, as some settled back and enjoyed the splendor while others saw their patience wear thin then their roads were not plowed.

It was a best-and-worst scenario for businesses as well, who grappled with staying open to benefit the community and their bottom lines or closing to keep their employees safe.

What worked for some did not work for others.

‘No use putting our people at risk'

Sue Feldman, one of the owners of Giuseppi's Pizza, said her business in downtown Rockville took extraordinary steps because of the snowstorms last week.

"We closed down the first two days after the storm," she said. "Nobody could get in. That's very unusual for us."

But as soon as the doors opened again, the customers started flooding in. But customers hoping to enjoy pizza in the comfort of their own homes were out of luck for part of last week. Home deliveries were halted until the roads were made safe, Feldman said.

‘We're going to get through this'

Extended school closings and snowstorms on six of the last nine weekends are putting The Music Café in Damascus in precarious financial shape, owner Randy Anderson said.

"Nobody's getting out of the house to go anywhere," he said.

Weekends, when he features live entertainment, are the bread and butter of the business, Anderson said. During the week he delivers lunch daily to staff at two local schools and counts on big orders from several other schools each day.

His five-and-a-half-year-old business has had tough times before and always bounced back, but the snow closings came so quickly and unexpectedly, he said.

"We're going to get through this," Anderson said.

‘I don't think anybody is shopping'

Stephanie Smith, owner of Everything Equestrian in Damascus, said her business was closed for nearly a week because of the storms. When it did reopen Saturday, there were few customers.

"All our customers are trying to deal with barns and horses," she said.

They are busy getting their driveways and paths for the horses cleared, she said. After one horse indoor arena collapsed, other horse owners are also worried about cleaning the snow off their roofs, she said.

"I don't think anybody is shopping except at gas stations, hardware stores and food stores," Smith said.

‘We did what we could'

While the majority of Olney businesses were closed during the peak of the recent snowstorms, some managed to stick it out.

Bobby Fletcher of Fletcher's Service Center on Georgia Avenue at Spartan Road said he never closed his 24-hour convenience store.

"It was a challenge, but we wanted to stay open for the people that were out there plowing," he said. "We had fuel most of the time, and many of the machines run on diesel. While we did run out of that, we were able to get a truck to bring us some more. We sold a lot of sandwiches and coffee; we just tried to keep everybody fueled up."

They did run a fair amount of tow calls, which presents a challenge in itself, he said.

"People don't realize that the trucks are not four-wheel drive," he said. "We did what we could — if people called and were home we told them to stay there so we could attend to the people who were out stranded."

Fletcher said since the car wash has been closed for an entire week, the car wash crew helped with shoveling.

Once the weather clears, he is expecting the car wash to be very busy.

‘We had to limit our orders'

The week before Valentine's Day is normally a busy time for florists, but the snow wilted the plans of one local owner.

Mary-Jo Ember, owner Aspen Hill Florist in Aspen Hill, said the two large snowfalls in the week prior to Valentine's Day had a negative impact on her sales.

"When we take orders for delivery, we're afraid to take more than we can do," she said. "We had to limit our orders because we were unsure if some of the side streets would be plowed."

Valentine's Day business is at the mercy of Mother Nature, Ember said.

"Something like this happens probably every fifth year," she said. "Last year there was ice."

‘Surprised to see us open'

Although many businesses suffered during the recent snow storms, one upcounty retailer flourished — private wine and beer stores.

Gordon Taylor, owner of UpCounty Fine Wine & Beer in Clarksburg, described the Thursday night before the Feb. 5-6 storm as "like a night before Thanksgiving or Christmas, one of the top four or five. Friday was also strong."

Taylor tries to keep the store open 365 days a year, but he did stay closed Feb. 6 and reopened the next day, Super Bowl Sunday.

Business that weekend was close to normal, he said.

The store also remained open through last week's blizzard.

"A number of people walked on foot to the store," Taylor said. "People were really surprised to see us open."

He expects being opening developed some good will with his customers.