KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Icy conditions and brutally cold temperatures on Thursday continued a slowdown in business this week in areas like downtown Lee’s Summit.
Following days of tough winter weather, the Neighborhood Cafe on Southeast 3rd Street sat mainly empty on Thursday night.
Manager Peyton Brasfield told 41 Action News that many customers were choosing for delivery instead of trudging through the ice to come to the restaurant.
“It’s exactly what you’d expect with the roads being what they are,” he said. “We’re having a lot less traffic in here.”
Due to the slowdown this week, Brasfield said he was even making changes to some of the staff schedules.
“We’re definitely cutting down on staffing because we don’t need the extra hands,” he said. “After three or four p.m., I’d be surprised if we got 10-20 tables.”
Other businesses in downtown Lee’s Summit echoed the decrease in business due to the cold weather.
While 41 Action News spotted some who braved the cold to get drinks on Thursday night, Meals on Wheels decided to call off deliveries for a third day in a row on Friday.
“The ice was so bad for driveways, walkways, and the steps up to people’s porches that we couldn’t put our deliverers in danger,” said Susie Newsam of Meals on Wheels. “A lot of volunteers are retired individuals. Their safety is of utmost importance to us.”
Newsam said Friday’s cancellations came as a result of schools closing in the area.
For the clients depending on the food, Newsam hoped for Meals on Wheels to get to them in the days ahead.
“Those people that don’t have anybody and don’t have any resources, they’re really going to be looking for us on Monday,” she said. “We’re going to do anything and everything we can do to get out there on Monday.”
With the brutal cold impacting businesses, Peyton Brasfield hoped for better days ahead.
“It’s a bummer but it definitely picks up when the weather gets warmer,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that.”
Meals on Wheels told 41 Action News that with winter still not over, it planned to possibly give clients emergency packets with canned goods for future days where deliveries are cancelled.
