AUSTIN, Texas — As the ice over Central Texas continued to melt on Tuesday, Austin’s small businesses slowly started to open back up.
At Sour Duck Market in East Austin, the freezing temperatures and icy roads led the cafe, restaurant and bar to shut its doors from Saturday to Monday evening.
“Obviously, financially, that’s not the ideal situation for anybody, but at the end of the day it’s a sacrifice that we’re willing to make,” said assistant general manager Alexander Andrade.
Like many restaurants and shops across the region, Sour Duck made the decision to shut down operations as road conditions worsened for the safety of employees and customers.
“I mean really, the easy decision is just to do right by our staff. I don’t wanna ask anybody to do anything I don’t wanna do, and I don’t wanna drive on icy roads either,” Andrade said. “And I certainly don’t want them to put themselves at risk of danger for coming into burgers on tables.”
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Regulars at Sour Duck made their return Tuesday.
“It was still a little slick on the roads, a little bit of ice, but I’m just glad to see most of it’s drying up and life is returning back to normal,” said Iris Schmidt.
Customers flocked indoors at Sour Duck as the afternoon sunshine melted the leftover ice on the patio.
Andrade expects later this week, it will be business as usual at the restaurant and bar.
“I kind of consider any time that there’s some kind of inclement weather event that there is going to be an influx of people who have been getting stir crazy and are ready to get out of the house,” he said.
TxDOT advises people to check road conditions before traveling by visiting DriveTexas.org.
