Halifax snow means slow time for businesses

Large amounts of snow that fell on Halifax and surrounding areas this past week has slowed things down for businesses in the region.

READ MORE: Halifax running out of places to put snow after winter storms hit region

The store, along with much of the municipality, shut down on Monday due to the snow – the day before Valentine’s Day, a busy time for florists.

“We’ve lost a lot of days of business, probably three or four days of business in downtown Dartmouth, so that causes some strife for small businesses,” Tim Rissesco, the executive director of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission, said.

It wasn’t just business that was delayed either, the organization’s Valentine’s Day content was also postponed. The winner was eventually announced Friday.

The contest was in the works well before the storm as way to increase foot traffic in winter and saw people fill out entries at various businesses.

“That’s been a huge success. We got hundreds of ballots,” Rissesco added.

READ MORE: Moncton florists battle blizzard aftermath to deliver bouquets

Dr. John Wilson, owner of Ocean Optometry, said the snow didn’t impact his business as much as other retailers in downtown Halifax because many appointments are book ahead of time, but the store still had to close for more than a day.

But in preparation for when businesses reopened, he said his fellow employees cleared snow off much of the sidewalk that lines businesses along the street.

“More people downtown being able to get to more stores means more foot traffic passed everybody, so it benefits everybody if the whole sidewalk is cleared,” Wilson said.