Peninsula businesses along snowy Skyline Blvd. enjoy big bump in visitors
WOODSIDE -- Some Bay Area businesses are still feeling the glow after rare snow flurries help bring out a flurry of visitors to their establishments.
Atop parts of Skyline Blvd. along the Peninsula are the remnants of a winter wonderland. The quiet rustling of the wind and a rare car whooshing by are the only sounds that break the silence.
There's a sense of calm up there like there is down the road inside Alice's Restaurant, a calm which didn't exist over the weekend, said co-owner Jamie Kerr.
"It was chaos, extreme chaos," he said.
Though it was a hectic weekend, it was a great weekend for his business, all thanks to the special and rare Bay Area snowfall.
"It was one of those days that you won't forget," he said. "This year was the most [snow] we've ever seen since we've owned Alice's Restaurant."
People packed the area to see the snow and Alice's saw a crowd they typically don't see during the winter.
"For this time of year, it was probably the busiest we've ever seen it," Kerr said.
Locals and visitors were amazed by the snow.
"It was magical to see all that snow," said Jason Nasrah, who owns Skywood Trading Post.
He says his business wasn't swamped, but it definitely was a welcome bonus weekend for his shop.
"It definitely helped out business," he said. "We've had a lot of power outages this winter, so the days where we get to see a lot of traffic from people coming to visit is always good."
Kerr says Alice's Restaurant is fortunate because they have a generator. Some people who live and work up the hill had to deal with persistent issues for days because of the snow.
"I think it was five days without power, and that was for everybody. People were still out after seven days," Kerr said.
While the unexpected chaos was great for business, Kerr acknowledged it did cause some issues on the roads.
"These events definitely help," he said. "But we just want to make sure that people know what they're getting themselves into when they come up the mountains."
