Colorado’s Shops Persevere Through Power Outages

An Unexpected Challenge

Ah, the Colorado shops, plucky as ever, endured recent power outages with grit and determination. Many a business kept its doors ajar during Xcel Energy’s power shutoff. This necessary precaution against wildfire risk was quite the inconvenience, affecting tens of thousands.

Coping Without Power

Imagine it: “Everywhere—no power, no internet,” as Satya Scheffelman from Golden Goods quite rightly recalled. But the holiday spirit endures. Shops like Golden Goods, known for delightful stocking fillers, stayed open, albeit under challenging circumstances.

Ingenious Solutions

With Christmas just round the corner, optimism prevails. Shops have consolidated efforts to attract shoppers. Backup generators, creative solutions, and sheer will have played their part here.

“We were just trying to keep the store looking nice,” Scheffelman added. Truly, an exercise in resilience as employees manually processed purchases via phones.

Impact on Foot Traffic

However, the loss of electricity impacted foot traffic considerably. Eric Steingas of Vital Outdoors noted, “This is usually one of our busiest weekends of the year, and we lost out on a lot of foot traffic.”

Across the street, businesses felt the pinch too. “We lost power Friday and Saturday, kind of all the way into Sunday morning,” lamented Steingas.

Looking Forward to Christmas

But hope shines eternal, especially with Christmas closing in. The anticipation of customers hurrying for last-minute gifts buoys spirits. “We’ve got high hopes people are going to do that last-second gift shopping,” remarked Steingas.

The Community’s Resilience

In their quintessentially Colorado way, local businesses continue to work together, sharing resources and ideas. The hope remains high that normalcy will return sooner rather than later, as the festive season is far from over.

For more on the situation, visit CBS News.

In conclusion, the resilience and camaraderie of these businesses serve as a testament to their adaptability. And as the yuletide approaches, they eagerly await the return of merry shoppers.