Storm Floris left thousands without power earlier this week, but c-stores that weren’t directly impacted were ready to assist.
Spar Dornoch saw hot food sales soar 50% after the storm hit when neighbouring villages suffered a power cut.
“They had no power, so they descended upon Dornoch,” said John Murray, who runs the store with daughter Nicole.
“Out of difficulty lies opportunity,” he told SLR. “We’ve never been so busy!
“People were able to claim back £30 [from their power supplier] because they had no power for two days, so we were selling lots of coffee, bacon rolls, breakfast rolls and hot food.”
The store racked up £1,100 in hot food sales and reminded customers to save their receipts in order to be reimbursed.
Bourtreehill Supermarket in Irvine, North Ayrshire also broke records. “The weather was quite mild here, just high winds, but our Snappy Shopper sales shot up because people were staying indoors,” said owner Imran Ali. “That week was my best Snappy Shopper turnover for the whole year – we got an extra £1,500 in sales. Our drivers took the risk, so our customers could stay safe.”
Up in Fraserburgh, a four hour-long power cut put Whytes of Pitsligo temporarily out of action, but thankfully the team leapt into action, covering the back freezers with blankets, transferring chilled goods and sourcing a generator.
Owner Julie-Ann thanked her supportive staff and “wonderful suppliers” Pie Aroma, McIntosh and Blue Toon Bakes for being flexible and understanding while she navigated the incident.
“Apart from my strop with a few people, we managed fine,” she said.
Once the store was back up and running, the kindly shopkeeper was quick to offer help to locals who might still be struggling. “For anyone still without power, we can give you hot water, microwave, or a bosie,” she said.
