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North Salem Businesses Back To Normal After Storm

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. – Nearly every resident of North Salem and Somers and all of the business establishments had power by midafternoon Thursday. The Daily Voice asked business owners how Superstorm Sandy affected them.

Croton Falls' Front Street Cellar has reopened for business after losing power for four days because of Hurricane Sandy.

Croton Falls' Front Street Cellar has reopened for business after losing power for four days because of Hurricane Sandy.

Photo Credit: Katherine Pacchiana

“We hardly ever lose power, because we’re on the same service as Metro-North,” said Dawn Christopher, owner of Front Street Cellar, located in the old Croton Falls train station. “But we lost it this time. I opened the shop on Thursday [Nov. 1] anyhow. I had to use a flashlight because we don't get a lot of outdoor light, but then the power came back. Things are back to normal now, but a lot of our business relies on commuters and the trains weren’t running, so we did lose sales.”

Up the street, Michael Giannone’s Bella Ella operated throughout the storm because he had a generator. “It was very busy, and people really appreciated that I was open,” Giannone said. “But the generator couldn’t keep the freezer going, so I lost a lot of prepared food: lasagna, ravioli, soup. And I lost over $1,000 worth of ice cream. I’d say, altogether, it was a wash. But people were thankful, so the good will was worth it.”

“We were really lucky,” said Ken Ryan, owner of Somers Custom Framing. “This little section of town didn’t lose power at all. There were lines at Taste Deli and the bagel shop. Business was booming there, but nobody came into our place. Even though the cash register wasn’t ringing, though, we were able to catch up on other stuff. I had 50 framing jobs in the hopper. We weren’t twiddling our thumbs.”

At the Mobil service station on Route 100 in Somers there were no lines and plenty of gas on Thursday afternoon.

Although Purdys’ Farmer and the Fish has never served breakfast, it made an exception during the storm and offered a “No-Power Breakfast.”

“We actually got some new customers out of it,” said manager Suzie Kaphan. “People who’d never been here came in for breakfast, then came back for dinner. Everyone was very understanding if they had to wait for a table.

“It turned out to be a nice gathering place for people. It was warm. They ran into people they knew. They felt less isolated. They were all concerned for each other.”

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