Snow supplies like sleds, shovels slipping away in Triangle
As Friday's winter storm bears down on the Triangle, many big-box stores in the Triangle are already sold out of winter weather gear like snow shovels and sleds.
However, some independent hardware stores still have supplies, like Handy Man Hardware in Raleigh. Owner Deanna Lusk was doing a brisk business in sleds and shovels Friday as shoppers made last-minute purchases. She said it's been busy all week.
Lusk told WRAL News her customers sometimes make fun of her for having so many sleds and shovels in stock year-round because the Triangle doesn't usually get a lot of snow here.
"Well, if it snows, you can't get them," Lusk said. "I have two suppliers, and they don't have any sleds at all."
When customers need winter supplies, she said, they need them quickly. Days like this are her store's time to shine.
"We get a lot of calls, they’re like, 'Snow shovels?' We’re like 'Yep,'" she said. "They come in and they’re very happy that we have them."
Patrick Madigan was one of several parents who came in looking for plastic sleds for kids Friday morning.
""This one here — does it come in pink with Elsa and Anna on it?" he asked Lusk. "Because if so, then that's their dream. But yeah, this is perfect."
Madigan says his kids are really hoping this storm will bring enough snow to sled on. If not, he says, at least they'll have a sled for the next snow event.
Roderick Perry came in looking for some salt. He was in luck.
"I try to take care of my elderly neighbors on my street and in and about Raleigh that my mother taught school with," he explained.
Douglas Federick stopped by to pick up supplies to keep his generator running. He said his wife is nervous about a possible power outage.
"She thinks we're going to get a blizzard," Federick smiled.
As of Friday, the store still had salt and sleds in stock as well as various kinds of snow shovels. They were selling quickly.
