I don't remember freezing rain as being a thing in Central Oregon. Ice and snow, sure, but not rain. That was always a Portland thing. (I'm more sympathetic to their plight--we used to make fun of those clueless city folk.)
At the same time, the foot traffic in downtown Bend has been to die for over the last few years. Something I never could have dreamed would happen 40 years ago, when Jerry (the Sole Shop) and I would sit on the sidewalk and play cribbage until a customer showed up.
We're an attraction to both locals and tourists. I'm aware of many Bendites saying they never shop downtown, which is a shame. The garage always has room and is a short walk from just about any shop in the area. I always respond with the Yogi Berra comment: "No one goes there anymore. It's too busy."
Anyway, over last couple of weeks we've seen the other side of that. It reminds me of February, 2019, when we saw a similar downturn in business. The snow, the ice, the cold, the slush, the puddles have kept people away. I have a feeling that a lot of tourists looked at the passes and the weather predictions and decided to stay home.
So it's been rather impactful.
If you base your business on tourism, then you have to accept that.
It's fine. I mean, the last three years have boomed, so having a couple of slow weeks isn't deadly. But it is also a reminder that this kind of weather can happen at any point past Halloween, and if it was to happen the week before Christmas would be a disaster. Another warning to be careful.
In the broader sense, it's a reminder of just how slow it is possible for business to get. String a few disasters in a row and it could be really hard.
As I've mentioned earlier, Pegasus Books no longer has to order the bulk of its product far in advance. We can respond to inventory as it happens. It was designed thus. Covid taught me that even a complete stop in business won't kill you as long as you don't have to pay for unwanted inventory and your overhead is low enough.
But it ain't fun.
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